Klimešová J. & Klimeš L. 1997. Klonální rostliny: fylogeneze, morfologie a ekologie [Clonal plants: phylogeny, morphology and ecology]. Biol. Listy 62: 241-263.
Clonal plants play a significant role in the flora and vegetation of the temperate zone. About 67 % of vascular plants are clonal in Central Europe. Clonal plants comprise nearly 100% of biomass and individuals in some plant communities. They are more tolerant to low temperatures, deficiency in soil nutrients, and shading, than non-clonal plants. Occasionally, most clonal plants reproduce sexually so that genetic variability in their populations need not be lower than in non-clonals. Clonality is an ancestral character in monocots whereas in dicots it is a derived character which originated several times in individual phylogenetic lineages. Clonality is associated with unipolar growth and often with missing secondary thickening. The 2760 species of central European flora can be classified into 21 categories of clonal growth, based on morphology and functions of clonality. Clonal plants are integrated structures within which the transport of resources is possible. Due to this they may be efficient and successful in heterogeneous environments where foraging and division of labor between individual parts of a clone may enhance their success.