MORPHOGRAM: A NOVEL DIAGRAM TO ORGANIZE THE TRANSITIVE SECONDARY XYLEM ELEMENTS OF BASAL TOMATO (SOLANUM LYCOPERSICUM) INTERNODES

In the internodal secondary xylem of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. cv. Moneymaker) there are five main groups of secondary xylem elements which can be distinguished in wood macerates of basal internodes of the plant. Their top-frequency lengths are distinct: ray parenchyma cells (80 μm); fusiform parenchyma cells and strands (250 μm); vessel members (290 μm); tracheids (350 μm); and fibrous elements (590 μm), although there is overlap in length and morphology. The imperforate axial elements are strikingly diverse and morphologically intergrading, precluding ready classification according to traditional wood anatomical standards. In a novel, more appropriate, flexible categorization the variability in imperforate axial elements is depicted in a morphogram in which pit shape is plotted against cell length and cell morphology. This morphogram organizes the various elements without imposing an absolute classification. It is concluded that the appreciable variation in tomato wood samples results from developmental plasticity. The morphogram elucidates the extent and nature of element variation at the morphological level. Thus, it can be used to record developmental plasticity of wood tissues to assess interplant variation in wood tissue development, as well as intraplant plasticity.