A greenhouse pot experiment and a lab germination test were carried out to determine the reproductive strategy of Rhynchelytrum repens (Willd.) C. E. Hubbard.The patterns of resource allocation in R. repens under four planting densities and the seed longevity and germination characteristics of R. repens in a 4-year period were investigated

respectively. Our results showed that: ①the total biomass

shoot biomass

root biomass and rootshoot biomass ratio of R. repens under low planting densities were significantly (p <0.05) higher than those under high planting densities

however

a contrasting pattern was observed for flower biomass; ② the values of reproductive effort of R. repens under high planting densities were significantly (p <0.05) higher than those under low planting densities

indicating that R. repens tends to allocate more resources to reproductive organs in situations of limited resources; ③ the germination rate of R. repens seeds were significantly (p<0.05) reduced by the high temperature (45 ℃)

yet the relative high germination rate (30.2%) recorded at the high temperature indicated the tolerance of R. repens to high temperatures; ④the germination ability decreased significantly (p <0.05) in seeds stored for 2 years

however

the germination rate (11.1%) in seeds stored for 4 years showed that the seeds can retain their viability over a relatively long period of time; ⑤R. repens showed fast germination

specifically

the seeds began to germinate on the first day of the germination test and most of them germinated during the second or third day of the germination test. It could be concluded that R. repens as a pioneer species in many extreme environments was likely attributed to its reproduction properties revealed by this study.