The Open Environmental & Biological Monitoring Journal
2011, 4 : -Published online 2011 May 5. DOI: 10.2174/1875040001104010032
Publisher ID: TOEBMJ-4-32
Assessment of Tannin Variation in Tamarisk Foliage Across a Latitudinal Gradient
United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, Monell Chemical Senses Center, 3500 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
ABSTRACT
Certain phenotypic traits of plants vary with latitude of origin. To understand if tannin concentration varies among populations of tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) according to a latitudinal gradient, an analytical method was adapted from an enological tannin assay. The tannin content (wet basis) of tamarisk foliage collected from 160 plants grown in a common garden ranged from 8.26 to 62.36 mg/g and was not correlated with the latitude of the original North American plant collection site. Tannins do not contribute to observed differences in herbivory observed among these tamarisk populations.