Open access – Research article THIS PAPER IS PART OF A SPECIAL ISSUE ENTITLED ‘PHRAGMITES AUSTRALIS IN NORTH AMERICA AND EUROPE’

Background and aims Phragmites australis is a wetland grass with high genetic variability, augmented by its cosmo-politan distribution, clonal growth form and large variation in chromosome numbers. Different ploidy levels and ecotypes differ in morphology and ecophysiological traits, and may possess different levels of phenotypic variation. The aim of this study was to quantify the natural vari-ation in ecophysiological characteristics of P. australis, and to explore whether differences in ecophysiological traits can be related to ploidy levels or to the geographic origin of the clones. Methodology Fifteen clones of P. australis from Europe and Asia/Australia, representing five ploidy levels (4x, 6x, 8x, 10x and 12x), were grown in a common garden design for 119 days. Plant growth and light-saturated rate of photosynthesis (Pmax), stomatal conductance (gs), water use efficiency (WUE) and concentrations of photosynthetic pigments and mineral ions in the leaves were measured. Principal results The growth of the plants and most ecophysiological parameters differed significantly betwee