Traits known to promote passage through the invasion sequence include long flowering season, being an annual, vegetative spread, having multiple dispersal vectors [85], high maximum relative growth rate, and high resource allocation to shoots and leaves [86, 87].
Bramble and bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) have a high vegetative spread and thus delineation of individual plants is often impossible.
In addition, vegetative spread and polyploidy may contribute to stabilization of many of these hybrids [ 35].
Most plants can tolerate defoliation to some extent by resorting to dwarf growth, vegetative spread, or by fast regrowth.
Plants can often survive (periodical) high trampling and defoliation through dwarf growth, vegetative spread and belowground storage of resources.
Clonal diversity reflects meadow architecture, its relative longevity and stability as a consequence of vegetative spread vs. recruitment of new individuals.
In the greenhouse, the vegetative vigor of rhizome sprouts from outcrossed plants was greater than that of selfed plants, indicating that inbreeding depression can potentially affect vegetative spread in this species under field conditions.
These rhizome resprouts produced fewer leaves and were smaller when obtained from selfed progeny (Tables 1, 2) indicating perhaps that fewer resources were allocated to vegetative spread via rhizomes in selfed progeny compared to outcrossed progeny.
This is less likely in perennial species, which have more opportunities for sexual reproduction and the possibility of vegetative spread, and they may retain high genetic diversity post-introduction (Hamrick and Godt 1996).
Rhododenron ponticum primarily relies on insect-mediated pollination for sexual reproduction (Mejías et al. 2002; Stout 2007 a ); however, clones may be prominent within populations resulting from vegetative spread (Mejías et al. 2002).
