Regulation of Branching in Decussate Species with Unequal Lateral Buds

In the decussate plants Alternanthera philoxeroides and Hygrophilasp. the opposite axillary bud primordia are of unequal sizefrom the time of their inception; the larger or + buds lie alongone helix and the smaller or – buds along another (helicoidalsystem). In decapitated plants of Alternanthera both buds grewout, but unequally; if the node was vertically split growthof the two shoots was more equal, and if the + buds were excisedgrowth of the – shoots approximately equalled that ofcontrol + shoots. In decapitated shoots of Hygrophila grownin sterile culture only one bud, the + or larger one, grew outat each of the upper nodes. In excised cultured nodes, also,only the + bud grew out; but if the nodes were split longitudinallyboth buds grew out, initially rather unequally. These experimentssupport the view that the regulation of branching in these specieshas two components, apical dominance and the dominance of thelarger (+) bud over the smaller (–) bud at the same node.The restriction of growth potentiality imposed on the –bud is not permanent but can be modified. Further correlativeeffects on bud outgrowth include those of the subtending leavesand of buds at other nodes.