Abstract: In order to investigate the morphological characteristics, clonal architecture and biomass allocation of medicinal plants of Epimedium from Sichuan at modular level, three species of Epimedium under the natural conditions were sampled, i.e., E.brevicornu, E.sagittatum and E.pubescens. The results indicated that the morphological characteristics of clonal modules of three species had significant differences, these clonal modules had large variability, the coefficients of variation (CV) among these clonal modules ranged from 29.29% to 48.31%. Clonal architecture of E.sagittatum tended more to “guerilla”, while those of E.brevicornu and E.pubescens tended more to “phalanx”. Three species of Epimedium allocated the highest proportion of biomass to rhizomes or leaves, next to stems, and the last to roots. E.pubescens had the highest clonal ability among three species. The biomass of clonal modules of E.pubescens was the largest in unit area, and E.pubescens preferred to grow in introduction and cultivation.

Key words: Epimedium, module, clonal architecture, biomass allocation