DOI: 10.5061/dryad.931zcrjxt
title: Phenotypic variation of the invasive plant <i>Ageratum conyzoides</i> and analysis of its competitiveness with the co-occurring indigenous species <i>Perilla frutescens</i>

description: Ageratum conyzoides is a malignant invasive plant in China. In this study,
 we sought to clarify the phenotypic variation of this plant and its
 competitive interaction with the indigenous species Perilla frutescens.
 Therefore, we established single-species planting groups for each species,
 with plant densities of one, two, four, or eight individuals. In addition,
 we set up mixed-species planting groups comprising one, two, or four
 individuals of both species. The results revealed significant differences
 in phenotypic characteristics of A. conyzoides, such as the mean
 aboveground biomass (AB) in all planting, specific stem length (SSL), and
 specific leaf area (SLA) in single-species planting. Under the
 mixed-species planting, the height of P. frutescens was significantly
 lower than A. conyzoides. The initial leaf length, plant height, and
 planting pattern of A. conyzoides were found to have a significant
 influence on AB, whereas the initial plant height had a significant
 influence on growth, and the planting pattern had a significant influence
 on SLA. For A. conyzoides, the coefficient of variation (CV) values of SSL
 in the low-density mixed-species planting (HZ2), flower bud intensity
 (FBI) in high-density mixed-species planting (HZ8), and AB in all
 mixed-species planting patterns were greater than 20.0%, thereby
 indicating that A. conyzoides has strong plasticity. This comparison of
 competitiveness indicated that the interspecific competition between A.
 conyzoides and P. frutescens was greater than the intraspecific
 competition between the respective species, and that the competitive
 capacity of A. conyzoides was greater than that of the P. frutescens,
 particularly under conditions of the medium-density mixed-species
 planting. Based on these findings, we conclude that A. conyzoides can
 adapt to intraspecific and interspecific competition via phenotypic
 characteristics variation and maintain a competitive advantage. In
 addition, we established that in the presence of sufficient resources, the
 competitiveness of A. conyzoides is strongest at medium plant densities.
description: # Phenotypic variation of the invasive plant *Ageratum conyzoides* and
 analysis of its competitiveness with the co-occurring indigenous species
 *Perilla frutescens* Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.931zcrjxt](10.5061/dryad.931zcrjxt) ## Description of the
 data and file structure The raw data required to generate figure 2 and 3
 in the article. ### Files and variables #### File:
 data\_for\_Figure\_2.csv **Description:** Variations in phenotypic
 characteristics of *Ageratum conyzoides* and *Perilla frutescens* under
 different planting patterns. ##### Variables *
 Species: *Ageratum conyzoides* （H）and *Perilla frutescens* （z） * planting
 pattern: single-species planting（H or Z） and mixed-species planting（HZ） *
 plant relative height growth: Determined as the natural logarithm of the
 height of the plant at harvest minus the natural logarithm of the height
 at planting. * average aboveground biomass (g) * specific stem length: The
 ratio of the main branch length (cm) to the main branch biomass (g). *
 specific leaf area: The ratio of leaf area (cm²‌) to leaf biomass (g). *
 flower bud intensity: The ratio of the number of buds to the aboveground
 biomass (g). #### File: data\_for\_Figure\_3.csv
 **Description:** Coefficient of variation of phenotypic characteristics of
 *Ageratum conyzoides* in different planting patterns. ##### Variables *
 planting pattern: mixed-species planting（HZ） * PHG: Plant relative height
 growth（Determined as the natural logarithm of the height of the plant at
 harvest minus the natural logarithm of the height at planting.） *
 SSL: Specific stem length（The ratio of the main branch length (cm) to the
 main branch biomass (g).） * SLA: specific leaf area （The ratio of leaf
 area (cm²‌) to leaf biomass (g).） * AB: Mean aboveground biomass per plant
 (g). * FBI: Flower bud intensity（The ratio of the number of buds to the
 aboveground biomass (g).） ## Code/software No software is needed to view
 the data. ## Access information Other publicly accessible locations of the
 data: * None Data was derived from the following sources: * None