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Science 15 October 1976:
Vol. 194. no. 4262, pp. 322 - 324
DOI: 10.1126/science.194.4262.322
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Articles

High Photosynthetic Capacity of a Winter Annual in Death Valley

H. A. MOONEY 1, J. EHLERINGER 1, and J. A. BERRY 2

1 Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305
2 Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Stanford, California 94305

Camissonia claviformis, a winter annual of Death Valley, California, that fixes carbon dioxide by the C3 mechanism, has an in situ photosynthetic rate at midday in spring of nearly 6 nanomoles of carbon dioxide per square centimeter per second—an exceptionally high rate. Camissonia fixes absorbed noon sunlight in the 400- to 700-nanometer region into chemical energy with an efficiency of 8.5 percent, which is 80 percent of that theoretically possible for intact leaves. This performance is primarily due to an unusual capacity to utilize high irradiances. Factors associated with this include a high stomatal conductance to carbon dioxide and high levels of soluble protein and ribulose-1,5-diphosphate carboxylase.

Submitted on May 27, 1976
Revised on July 23, 1976


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