https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.gtht76hvn

This dataset contains two files with the results for two experiments.

1.The first file “desiccation” contains the results for a dessication experiment, to investigate C. quadrangularis resistance to desiccation and if that resistance is a function of fragment length. We took Cissus fragments of different lengths (0.5, 1, 2, or 3 internodes) and desiccated them at room temperature in the greenhouse and weighed them every week to monitor their mass loss. We weighed them until they reached a certain mass loss category (measured as a percentage of mass loss). We then repotted Cissus and assesed their viability. We considered that a cissus fragement was viable if it had shoot or root growth. We found that cissus fragments remained viable even after losing 80% of their mass content. 

2.The second file “acetone” contains the results of a second experiment in which we investigated if acetone could accelerate Cissus dehidration. In this experiment, 50 Cissus fragments of 1 internode in lenght were treated with acetone (n = 25) or with water (n = 25) as a control. We dehydrated them in an oven at 50 degrees Celsius. We recorded the number of days it took each fragment to completely dehydrate (reach a stable mass), and compared that number of days, not finding any difference between water and acetone. 

Description of the data and file structure

A. File “desiccation”

All the data are contained in columns/rows and each row represents an individual Cissus fragment. 

The following is a description of the columns:

1. Individual: a unique identifier of each Cissus fragment
2. a/b: indicates if the internode half is the upper half (a) or lower half (b). This column only applies for the half internode category. All the other categories should have an na, because fragments with 1, 2, or 3 internodes do not have upper or lower halves.
3. Internodes: this column describes how many internodes long each Cissus fragment was. The possible values are 0.5, 1, 2, or 3
4. Lenght1: lenght of the first internode in mm
5. Length2: length of the second internode in mm. Only applies for Cissus fragments of 2 or 3 internodes. For Cissus fragments of 1 internode, this cell appears as na. 
6. Lenght3: lenght of the third internode in mm. Only applies for Cissus fragments of 3 internodes. For Cissus fragments of 1 or 2 internodes, this cell appears as na. 
7. Weight: initial mass of the Cissus fragment in grams
8. Final_weight: Final mass of the Cissus fragment in grams, once it had spent some time dehydrating in the greenhouse
9. mass_loss_category: percentage of weight loss that the Cissus fragment belongs to. This category was assigned after calculating the mass loss category for each fragment as (initial mass-final mass/initial mass)*100
10. Final_number_of _nodes: number of nodes that Cissus had after growing again in pots. Can be used as a measurement of Cissus growth
11. Final_internode_lenght: Total lenght of the internodes in milimmeters. The letter “d” indicates plants that died during the course of the experiment. 
12. Root_lenght: Total lenght of the longest root in milimmeters. The letter “d” indicates plants that died during the course of the experiment. 
13. Viable: Binary classification of the Cissus plants as viable (1) or non viable (0). A plant was scored viable if it exhibited shoot or root growth. 

B. File “acetone”

All the data are contained in columns/rows and each row represents an individual Cissus fragment. 

The following is a description of the columns:

1. Fragment: A unique number identifier of each Cissus fragment
2. Treatment: Identifies the type of treatment that the Cissus fragment received. It can be either “water” or “acetone”
3. Days: This column contains the number of days that it took the Cissus fragments to loose all their water content. 

Sharing/Access information

This is original data derived from experiments in a greenhouse at the University of Minnesota.