EVOLUTION OF LEAF FORM IN MARSILEACEOUS FERNS: EVIDENCE FOR HETEROCHRONY

Using an explicit phylogenetic framework, ontogenetic patterns of leaf form are compared among the three genera of marsileaceous ferns ( Marsilea , Regnellidium , and Pilularia ) with the outgroup Asplenium to address the hypothesis that heterochrony played a role in their evolution. We performed a Fourier analysis on a developmental sequence of leaves from individuals of these genera. Principal components analysis of the harmonic coefficients was used to characterize the ontogenetic trajectories of leaf form in a smaller dimensional space. Results of this study suggest that the “evolutionary juvenilization” observed in these leaf sequences is best described using a mixed model of heterochrony (accelerated growth rate and early termination at a simplified leaf form). The later stages of the ancestral, more complex, ontogenetic pattern were lost in Marsileaceae, giving rise to the simplified adult leaves of Marsilea , Regnellidium , and Pilularia . Life‐history traits such as ephemeral and uncertain habitats, high reproductive rates, and accelerated maturation, which are typical for marsileaceous ferns, suggest that they may be “ r strategists.” The evidence for heterochrony presented here illustrates that it has resulted in profound ecological and morphological consequences for the entire life history of Marsileaceae.