Keywords: 
• botany /
• drought stress /
• ground cover plants /
• water consumption /
• maximal photochemical efficiency

Abstract: To select drought-resistant and water-saving plants，water consumption and maximum photochemical efficiency（Fv/Fm）of eight shade tolerant，ground cover plants（Pellionia radicans，Lysimachia hemsleyana， Selaginella nipponica，Selaginella uncinata，Selaginella moellendorffii，Sedum chauveaudii，Ophiopogon bodinieri） experiencing drought stress were analyzed. The persistent drought method was used to find diurnal water consumption regularity，and Fv/Fm was determined with manual control of different relative water contents using an Li-6400XT（Split-plot design with treatments of 100%，80%，60%，40% and 3 replications）. Results showed that with normal water content levels（100%），the diurnal variation for water consumption was a single-peak type between 10:00 and 14:00 with the peak and total water consumption varying among the eight plants（F=8.459，P=0.05）. As water stress increased，water consumption decreased until there was no difference which were all under 0.5 gg-1h-1. The Fv/Fm of Selaginella moellendorffii，Selaginella uncinata，and Selaginella nipponica decreased dramatically at 80%，60%，40% by 61.6%，22.6%，48.5% respectively，and morphological characteristics deteriorated. Of the eight plant types，Ophiopogon bodinieri had the most ideal characteristics；whereas S. moellendorffii，S. uncinata，and S. nipponica were less fit as drought-resistant and water-saving types. Nevertheless，as long as peak water consumption was maintained， these plants could be used in gardens. ［Ch，3 fig. 21 ref.］