EARLY LEAF ONTOGENY AND THE SHOOT APEX OF COLOPHOSPERMUM MOPANE (LEGUMINOSAE)

Shoot tips of Colophospermum mopane (Kirk ex Benth.) Kirk ex Léonard produce leaves which at maturity are bifoliate and devoid of stipules. Investigation of their early ontogeny, however, shows that these leaves begin as trifoliate structures partially enclosed by their stipules. The latter are fused along their mid regions, forming a tongue-like “connector.” The lower chamber of this stipule pair harbors the apical meristem while the upper compartment enfolds the two lateral leaflets. The terminal leaflet, histologically resembling the stipules, also fulfills a similar function by covering the top portion of its sister leaflets. Anatomically, the shoot apex displays a pendulum symmetry, with rather steep elevation of that internode portion which subtends the newly formed primordium. Some comparisons with the shoot apex of Hymenaea are drawn.     

EARLY LEAF ONTOGENY AND SHOOT DEVELOPMENT IN BROWNEA ARIZA (LEGUMINOSAE)

Brownea ariza Benth. (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae) shows early shoot tip abortion and subsequent renewal growth from the pseudoterminal bud. This species is unusual in that the entire shoot system is formed before flushing from the bud occurs, shoot tip abortion occurs during flushing, and the aborting portion contains three to six leaves as well as primordial structures varying from hood to peg shape. This study focused on the morphological changes from initiation of scale and foliage leaf primordia in the “resting” renewal bud through bud elongation to flushing and bud abortion. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that embryonic scale leaves are hood-shaped while foliage leaf primordia show early segmentation into leaflets and stipules. No transitional stages were observed. Bud scales and foliage leaves show opposite developmental trends. In bud scales, length at maturity increases from first to last formed, while length decreases in sequentially formed foliage leaves. Early in leaf development the stipules keep pace with the elongation of the rachis. When the bud reaches about one half of its final length the leaf rachis begins to exceed the lengths of its stipules. This young rachis terminates in a distinct mucro that persists until maturity at which time it abscises. Growth patterns indicate that mucro and rachis are a single developmental unit. The early abortion of a shoot tip containing several leaves cannot be easily rationalized. Previous suggestions have involved maintenance of form and ecological adaptation. We add the possibility of elimination of cell progeny encumbered by mutations. From this and other studies of this group, it is clear that at maturity leaves of different species may look alike, e.g., Hymenaea and Colophospermum are bifoliolate; Brownea, Saraca, and others are multifoliolate. However, early stages of leaf ontogeny are quite diverse and may be of systematic value, since these early differences are lost or masked by later development.     

LEAF INITIATION RATES AND VOLUME GROWTH RATES IN THE SHOOT APEX OF CHRYSANTHEMUM

The leaf initiation rate and apical volume growth rate of lateral shoots of Chrysanthemum morifolium ‘Improved Albatross III’ were determined for plants growing under controlled environment conditions. After removal of the terminal bud, the top two lateral buds produced leaves at a rate of 1.4 to 1.6 leaves/day for the first 9 or 10 days. At about the 10th day there appeared to be an abrupt shift to a lower initiation rate of 0.7 to 0.8 leaves/day. Defoliation by periodic removal of leaves larger than 1 cm caused a statistically significant increase in initiation rate, but not to as high a rate as that of the first 10 days of bud growth. Volume growth rates of the apical region were determined from transverse sections of five apices, according to the method of Richards (1951). The apical region was found to have a radial expansion rate of 0.1623/plastochron and a vertical expansion rate of 0.0494/plastochron. The volume growth rate was calculated to be 0.3740/plastochron and the volume doubling time to be 1.85 plastochrons or 56 to 63 hr.     

ON THE STEM APEX,LEAF INITIATION AND EARLY LEAF ONTOGENY IN FILICALEAN FERNS

A general account of the stem apex organization in ferns is presented in support of the classical single apical cell concept. The range in variation of apical cells and of their modes of division are described. Evidence is brought out to indicate probable directing effects of the apical cell on modes of division of surrounding cells and on the leaf mother cell. Initiation of and eventual establishment of a stabilized apex in fern leaves is described. Of the more than 50 genera studied, the leaves of all are traceable to a single mother cell from which the leaf apical cell is cut out. Apical dichotomies are described in a number of genera as well as their effect on early leaf development. Results are discussed in a phylogenetic and morphogenetic context of leaf appendicularization.     

COMPARISON OF SHOOT APEX DYNAMICS AND EARLY LEAF ONTOGENY IN TWO SPECIES OF SARACA (LEGUMINOSAE)

Shoot apices of Saraca indica produce adult leaves that have 4 to 6 pairs of leaflets, whereas those of S. bijuga usually have only 2 pairs. In both species one leaflet pair is found during the juvenile phase. Juvenility lasts many plastochrons in S. bijuga but is restricted to a few in S. indica. The shoot apical meristems of these two taxa are similar in structure, cell number, and cell size; however, the shoot apex of Saraca bijuga is slightly more stratified, having 2–3 tunica layers as opposed to 1–2 in S. indica. For most of the plastochron the apical meristem in both species is situated laterally at the base of the most recently formed leaf. A newly forming primordium and its internode shift the apical meristem upward unilaterally; the meristem passes through a brief apical dome stage and becomes positioned 180° from its origin at the beginning of the plastochron. Hence, there is a true pendulum meristem in both species. In S. bijuga the maximum length of the youngest leaf primordium, just prior to the formation of its successor, is twice that of S. indica. The internodes immediately below the shoot apex and the axillary buds develop more rapidly in S. bijuga than in S. indica. It is suggested that the bijugate leaf of S. bijuga represents a case of neoteny in plants.     

A RECONSTRUCTION OF CELL DEVELOPMENT IN THE SHOOT APEX OF MAIZE

Somatic mutations were induced in maize embryos in order to follow the albino-tissue patterns in mature plants. A reconstruction of cellular development in the shoot apex has been attempted. Two strains of maize were employed, wd/Yg₂ and pastel-8549/y₁ for seed irradiation with gamma rays. After mature plants had developed from this radiated seed, the sectored plants were analyzed in detail for their patterns of albino tissue. The location and frequency of these patterns were correlated with cell number at various sites of the initial shoot apex in order to deduce the number of cells contributing to each frequency class. Various lines of evidence lead to the conclusion that the cellular differentiation in the shoot apex is organized and a relatively stable process. Apparently a few cells in the apical dome provided daughter tissue for the upper half of the maize plant. Various sector patterns are diagrammed and the position of their albino tissue is explained in relation to the location of a specific cell in the apex.     

A SEASONAL STUDY OF THE VEGETATIVE SHOOT APEX AND THE PATTERN OF PITH DEVELOPMENT IN HIBISCUS SYRIACUS

Tolbert , Robert J. (West Virginia U., Morgantown.) A seasonal study of the vegetative shoot apex and the pattern of pith development in Hibiscus syriacus. Amer. Jour. Bot. 48(3): 249–255. Illus. 1961.—The shoot apex of Hibiscus syriacus L. is described as having a cytohistological zonation superimposed on a tunica-corpus configuration. The apex is flat-topped or may have a saddle-back or concave appearance as seen in median longitudinal section. The metrameristem, consisting of the tunica and corpus initials, is comprised of large, light-staining, vacuolate cells that have thick cell walls and exhibit much dark-staining intercellular substance. Surrounding the metrameristem is the flanking meristem, which is responsible for the outer layers of the shoot, and from which the leaf primordia arise. The pith rib meristem lies below the metrameristem and consists of files of cells that are responsible for the pith. There are no major seasonal changes in the structure of the apex during the yearly cycle. The pith displays a long-shoot type of development with the cells remaining in distinct files during the first flush of growth in the spring. As growth slows and internode elongation is gradually reduced, the pith displays the characteristic short-shoot type of development, consisting of a spongy tissue of rounded cells with many intercellular spaces and no distinct files of cells. A crown is differentiated across the top of the pith at the end of the growth period. This consists of a band of cells with thick, dark-staining cell walls, which separates by the apex from the last year's growth. In contrast to many gymnosperms, this crown is dispersed by renewed cell activity the following spring.     

AN ULTRASTRUCTURAL AND MICROSPECTROPHOTOMETRIC STUDY OF THE SHOOT APEX DURING THE INITIATION OF THE FIRST LEAF IN GERMINATING PINUS BANKSIANA

The morphology and anatomy of the shoot apex in germinating Pinus banksiana seeds is described by using scanning and transmission electron microscopy and microspectrophotometry, with special attention given to events preceding the appearance of the first leaf primordia at about 72 hr post-imbibition. The 2C nuclei begin DNA synthesis at about 43 hr. RNA increases until 52 hr and is followed by a reduction related to cytokinesis. Protein drops after 36 hr, apparently related to digestion of storage protein bodies, which by 48 hr are about 50% digested. The resulting protein body vacuoles do not enlarge. Starch is digested just prior to appearance of the leaves and may be mediated by α-amylase production from stacks of endoplasmic reticulum. Heterochromatin increases in the nuclei during germination and coincides with an increase in repeated nucleotide sequences. Golgi bodies increase in number after the first mitoses.     

DEVELOPMENTAL ASPECTS OF THE SHOOT APEX,LEAF, AND BELTIAN BODIES OF ACACIA CORNIGERA

The final event of leaf ontogeny in Acacia cornigera is the production of a Beltian body at the tip of each rachis and pinnule. This structure serves as a food source for an ant, Pseudomyrmex ferruginea F. Smith, that lives in a mutualistic relationship with the plant. The mature Beltian body consists of an epidermis, hypodermis, cortex and central vascular bundle. Anatomical and cytohistological comparisons between the shoot apex and leaf ontogeny in A. cornigera and similar developmental aspects of the phyllode of A. longifolia Willd. and of the leaf of A. decurrens var. dealbata F.v.M. indicate that each type of photosynthetic organ is characterized by a different period of longevity of its group of sub-apical initials. The phylogenetic history of Beltian bodies is also discussed.