The Reproductive Capacity of Plants in a Gradient of Chemical Environmental Pollution

The reproductive capacity of Taraxacum officinale s.l. (two morphological forms: T. off. f. dahlstedtii Lindb. fil. and T. off. f. pectinatiforme Lindb. fil.) under conditions of chemical environmental pollution was studied in years differing in weather conditions. The number of generative shoots in plants increased along the toxic load gradient, which led to an increase in the total number of seeds and the weight of filled seeds. The relative energy value of seeds was determined from the amount of plastic substances in them. The number of seeds was shown to increase at a considerably higher rate than the energy expenditures for the formation of each seed. A general principle was revealed that determines the energy expenditures for the formation of a normal seed in both T. officinale forms under different weather conditions and under the chemical pollution of the environment.