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Q uantitative survey of sieve tube distribution in foliar terminal veins of ten dicot species
Author(s) -
Horner Harry T.,
Lersten Nels R.,
Wirth Cassandra L.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
american journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.218
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1537-2197
pISSN - 0002-9122
DOI - 10.1002/j.1537-2197.1994.tb11448.x
Subject(s) - biology , botany , sieve tube element , polygonum , sieve (category theory) , phloem , ecology , mathematics , combinatorics
Quantitative data on sieve tubes in foliar terminal veins (vein endings) were added to the meager published information from only five dicot species. Correlations with other minor vein configurations were also explored. Leaf samples from ten species of dicots ( Oxalis nelsonii, O. pes‐capri, O. rubra, O. stricta [Oxalidaceae], Caesalpinia pulcherrima. Glycine max, Trifolium repens [Leguminosae], Ampelamus albidus [Asclepidaceae], Eupatorium rugosum [Asteraceae], and Polygonum convolvulus [Polygonaceae]) were selected for two quantitative procedures: 1) a survey of the arrangement of terminal veins and distribution of sieve tubes in terminal veins in 100 areoles per species using stained leaf clearings; and 2) a search for correlations of sieve tube distribution with number and branching patterns of terminal veins, and with sizes of areoles using image analysis. Two Oxalis species ( O. pes‐capri and O. stricta ) had the smallest areoles and virtually no sieve tubes in any terminal vein. Polygonum convolvulus, at the other extreme, had sieve tubes extending to the tips of most terminal veins. The other species had various intermediate sieve tube configurations. The data indicate that species with few or no sieve tubes associated with their terminal veins, regardless of the number of terminal veins per areole, have smaller areoles. These results may have implications regarding the entry of leaf photosynthates into the vascular system.