Environmental drivers of femaleness of an inter‐Andean monoecious shrub

Hetero‐and conspecific interactions, nutrient availability, climate, habitat heterogeneity, and disturbances can generate variation and spatial patterns of femaleness in plants. We assessed whether year, site, plant size, plant density, and canopy area of conspecific neighbors influenced the expression and spatial aggregation of femaleness in Croton aff. wagneri, a monoecious shrub from dry shrublands of the inter‐Andean valleys in Ecuador. We georeferenced in two sites (1,700 and 1,400 m.a.s.l) in five 10 × 10 m plots, within each site, the position of each Croton reproductive plant during first part of flowering season in two years, and measured their height, length, and width. The femaleness index of each plant was determined by the number of female and male buds and flowers. Plant density was determined for each plot, along with the number of neighbors and the summed canopy area of conspecific neighbors (at 1.0, 2.0, and 2.5 m radius, and the five closest plants) from each focal plant. Croton´s femaleness at the lower elevation site was greater than at the higher elevation site and increased with plant size and with canopy of the closest five neighbors. Soil at the lower elevation site had higher temperatures and lower water content. Aggregate patterns of femaleness were found in more plots at the lower elevation site. Our results indicate that location, plant size, and canopies of conspecific neighbors of Croton can affect femaleness and its aggregation and support the hypothesis that femaleness can be influenced by facilitative interactions. in Spanish is available with online material. Resumen Las interacciones hetero y conespecíficas, disponibilidad de nutrientes, clima, heterogeneidad del hábitat y las perturbaciones pueden afectar la variación y el patrón espacial de la feminidad en especies de plantas. Evaluamos si el año, sitio, tamaño de planta, densidad de plantas y área de dosel de vecinos conespecíficos influyeron en la expresión y agregación espacial de la feminidad de Croton aff. wagneri, un arbusto monoico de los valles interandinos en Ecuador. Se georreferenció en dos sitios (1.700 y 1.400 m.s.n.m.) en cinco parcelas de 10 × 10 m, dentro de cada sitio, la posición de cada planta reproductora de Croton durante la primera parte de la floración en dos años y se midió su altura, longitud y ancho. El índice de feminidad de cada planta se determinó por el número de brotes y flores femeninas y masculinas. Se determinó la densidad de la planta