Three hundred and thirty-eight plants ofAcer rufinerveSieb. et Zucc. were monitored in a secondary deciduous forest for 5 years in terms of their sex expression and fruiting habit. Two types of flowers, functionally male and female, were recognized. The adult population consisted of constant males, inconstants and constant females. Constant males, plants that bore exclusively male flowers throughout the study period, accounted for 87 of the adult population. Thirty-four inconstant plants (11) changed their sex in various ways. Constant females which accounted for only 2 of the population, were significantly smaller plants than the other two morphs, and suffered greater mortality. Fruit set was consistent and generally high for plants bearing female flowers. Thirteen juvenile plants out of 17 began reproduction during the 5 years, and all became male. For inconstant plants, fluctuation in sex expression tended to be more frequent and/or greater in magnitude for smaller plants. However, there was no evidence of the directional sex transition predicted by the size advantage hypothesis. Plant health and the successional stage of the stand should be taken into account as well as resource allocation problems to explain the proximate mechanisms of sex expression.
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