Big-seed, durable construction syndrome

"Across species, a negative correlation has commonly been found between the seed mass and the potential relative growth rate (RGR) of seedligns grown under favourable conditions (e.g., Grime and Hunt, 1975; Shipley and Peters, 1990, Jurado and Westoby, 1992; Maranon and Grubb, 1993; Rincon and Huante, 1993; Osunkoya et al., 1994). However, there is no known mechanism through which larger seed mass might directly cause lower potential RGR. Rather, low potential RGR and large seed mass appear to be part of a trait syndrome also involving sturdy tissue construction (low-SLA and specific root length) (Reich et al., 1998; Wright and Westoby, 1999...) and low rates of tissue turnover (Bonger and Popma, 1990; Seiwa and Kikuzawa, 1991). Conversely, smaller-seeded species generally have higher potential RGR under near-optimal conditions, which is due in part to the seedlings being constructed of thinner or lower-density tissue with higher turnover rates."

Westoby et al. (2000) [see full citation in previous post]