MORPHOLOGY AND DICHOTOMOUS VASCULATURE OF THE LEAF OF KINGDONIA UNIFLORA

Foster , Adriance S. (U. California, Berkeley), and Howard J. Arnott . Morphology and dichotomous vasculature of the leaf of Kingdonia uniflora. Amer. Jour. Bot. 47 (8): 684–698. Illus. 1960.—An intensive study of the nodal anatomy, petiolar vasculature and open dichotomous venation of the leaf of Kingdonia has revealed a type of foliar vascular system of unusual morphological and phylogenetic interest. The vascular supply at the nodal level consists of 4 collateral traces which diverge from a single gap into the sheathing leaf base. This type of nodal anatomy is perhaps primitive, and comparisons are made with the unilacunar nodes and the 2- and 4-parted leaf trace systems characteristic of many angiospermous cotyledons and the foliage leaves of certain woody ranalian genera. The petiole of Kingdonia is vascularized by 2 pairs of bundles which represent the upward continuation of the 4 leaf traces. A transition from an even (4) to an odd (3) number of strands occurs near the point of attachment of the 5, lobed, cuneiform lamina segments to the petiole. Each of the 2 abaxial bundles dichotomizes and the central derivative branches fuse to form a double bundle which enters the base of the median lamina segment. The 2 adaxial petiolar bundles diverge right and left into the bases of the paired lateral segments of the lamina. An analogous type of transition from an even to an odd number of veins occurs in many angiospermous cotyledons which develop a definable mid-vein. But, in Kingdonia, the bundles which enter the bases of the lamina segments give rise to systems of dichotomizing veinlets devoid of “mid-veins.” Although the majority of the terminal veinlets enter the marginal teeth of the lamina segments, “blind” endings, unrelated to the dentations, occur in all the leaves studied. Typically, all of the vein endings in a given lobule of a lamina segment are derived from the same dichotomous vein system. However, in some leaves, a veinlet dichotomizes directly below a sinus and the branches diverge into the marginal regions of 2 separate lobules. The phylogenetic significance of the occurrence of open dichotomous venation in such an herbaceous angiosperm as Kingdonia is briefly discussed. From a purely morphological viewpoint, the Kingdonia type of venation invites direct comparison with the venation of Sphenophyllum, certain ferns or Ginkgo rather than with any of the known reticulate venation patterns of modern angiosperms. Although the foliar venation of Kingdonia may represent the result of evolutionary reversion, the very rare anastomoses which occur seem primitive in type rather than “vestiges” of a former system of closed venation.