Seasonal timing of pseudoviviparous reproduction can be a vital component of the successful establishment of plantlets in L. spiralis, considering that in this species the plantlets are formed only after the flower head touches the ground. In contrast, in L. vivipara, the plantlets are formed early, without touching the ground. Moreover, L. spiralis is a splitter ramet species, while L. vivipara is a canopy-forming species. The pseudoviviparous canopy-forming strategy appears to be more advantageous than the splitter ramet strategy, because even under similar soil moisture conditions, the survival of L. vivipara plantlets was greater than that of L. spiralis.

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Microenvironmental heterogeneity, specifically heterogeneity in percentage cover of vegetation, appears to have influenced the generation and maintenance of reproductive modes in Leiothrix. Reproductive variation within Leiothrix taxa occupying different microenvironments results from a response to fine-scale habitat variation. Therefore, it is proposed that ecological speciation is an important process in adaptive radiation in this genus.

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