biologia plantarum

Biologia plantarum 22:42, 1980 | DOI: 10.1007/BF02878126

Gradients of several leaf characteristics on stems of two forest herbs

P. Eliáś¹

¹ Institute of Experimental Biology and Ecology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia

The plants of two herbaceous species, namelyPulmonaria officinalis L. andSymphytum tuberosum L., growing in two deciduous forests in SW. Slovakia, were used for analysis of anatomicphysiological gradients along the insertion level of individual leaves. The gradients were established for six leaf characteristics. Specific leaf area and development of leaf area increased, while leaf tissue hydration, degrees of succulence and consistency decreased with height of insertion of leaves upon the stems. The gradients indicate the decreasing of the leaf water content and dry mass with height of the leaf on the stem. Stomatal resistance was usually the lowest in basal leaves and the highest in apical leaves of the plant. The anatomic-physiological heterogeneity of leaves of a plant is large and cannot be neglected in any anatomical or physiological investigations.

Received: January 15, 1979; Accepted: September 3, 1979; Published: January 1, 1980  Show citation