Reproductive biology of Launaea cervicornis: A keystone species of the Balearic coastal shrublands

Launaea cervicornis (Boiss.) Font Quer & Rothmaler, an endemic of the islands of Majorca and Minorca (Balearic Islands), is a keystone species of the cushion-like plant communities of the coastal rocky places. The study of its reproductive biology shows the existence of differential strategies, with reference to other species of the genus. The principal features are: (1) the absence of continuous iteroparity; (2) short average duration of the flowering period (36.8 days); (3) high value of intrapopulational flowering overlap index (0.86); (4) high levels of aptitude to produce fruits having atelechory as preferential mechanism of dispersion; and (5) germination capacity is increased during the autumn of the first year (fruits are not capable of joining the seedbank of the soil). These characteristics are considered to be determinants for its adaptation to the peculiar habitat in which it prospers.