Ricerc@Sapienza

Short-term physiological plasticity allows plants to thrive in highly variable environments such as the Mediterranean ecosystems. In such context, plants that maximize physiological performance under favorable conditions, such as Cistus spp., are generally reported to have a great cost in terms of plasticity (i.e., a high short-term physiological plasticity) due to the severe reduction of physiological performance when stress factors occur. However, Cistus spp. also show a noticeable resilience ability in response to stress factors.

Cistus salvifolius L. is the most widely spread Cistus species around the Mediterranean basin. It colonizes a wide range of habitats growing from sea level to 1,800 m a.s.l., on silicolous and calcicolous soils, in sun areas as well as in the understory of wooded areas. Nevertheless, this species has been mainly investigated in term of its responsiveness to drought. Our aim was to understand which leaf traits allow C. salvifolius to cope with low-light environments.