Table 4.
Summary of 13 studies that included ecophysiology of succulent or semi-succulent species, with numbers corresponding to number of species assigned to one of four texture classes as defined here
| Context of study | Orthophyll* | Semi-succophyll | Succophyll | Sclerophyll | Reference | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semi-arid shrubland, Spain | 4 | 15 | 4 | 5 | Grubb et al. 2015 | Semi-succulent species dominated the flora |
| Succulent karoo, Namib Desert, South Africa | 1 | 2 C3 | 2 C3 + 2 CAM | 1 | This paper (see Fig. 3) | The most succulent flora assessed so far – water loss an inverse function of succulence; CAM spp are the most succulent |
| Semi-arid woodland, Argentina | 27 | 11 | 15 | 29 | Vendramini et al. 2002 | Greatest texture range of all studies |
| Roof top candidates from Mediterranean-climate regions, grown in E Australia # | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | Guo et al. 2021 | Survival not a function of succulence |
| Mistletoes and eucalypt hosts, south-eastern Australia # | 0 | All 4 mistletoes, some eucalypts | 0 | Most of 17 eucalypts | Richards et al. 2021 | Only extreme or mean values assessed here as raw data not available |
| 17 ‘succulent’ and 29 ‘non-succulent’ epiphytes, cloud forest, Cost Rica # | 0 | 17 | 0 | 29 | Gotsch et al. 2022 | Only means available |
| Halophyte, Crambe maritima, under various NaCl concentrations, including control | 0 | 0 | 1 (all treatments) | 0 | de Vos et al. 2010 | Succulence increased with NaCl concentration |
| Saline marshland, cool desert, NW China | 5 | 3 | 6 | 3 | Wang et al. 2015 | Halophytes semi-succulent and succulent |
| 9 species of Clusia varying in photosynthetic pathway, cultivated England | 0 | 3 CAM/C3 + 3 C3 | 3 (CAM) | 0 | Barrera Zambrano et al. 2014 | CAM species most succulent |
| Roof top candidates from ‘harsh habitats’, grown in cold maritime Halifax, Canada # | 12 | 1 | 1 | 6 | Lundholm et al. 2015 | Plantago maritima, not Sedum, most succulent |
| Steppe grasslands, Hungary | 14 | 2 | 1 | 4 | Krasser and Kalapos 2000 | Even grasslands may contain succulents |
| Succulent alpine plants, Italy # | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | Codigdola et al. 1987, 1990 | Swollen parenchyma cells illustrated, leaf area corrected to one side rather than two |
| Eight populations of desert halophyte, Lycium ruthenicum, in NW China # | 0 | 3 | 5 (mean) | 0 | Li et al. 2021 | SLA values incorrect (multiplied by 104 to give cm2 g−1 as used in rest of this table) |
| Total | 70 | 75 | 43 | 91 | = 277 |
*Excludes sclerophylls, #Fresh mass corrected to saturated mass as required (see Methods)