The Developmental Morphology of Leea guineensis. I. Vegetative Development

Abstract

The early ontogeny of the compound leaves and their associated stipules in Leea guineensis G. Don was studied using SEM. At initiation, the leaf primordium uses up most of the shoot apical meristem, which fluctuates greatly in size at different stages of development. Continuous meristematic regions at the base of the leaf primordium, later recognized as stipules, grow around and enclose the apical meristem. The continuity between the leaf, the stipules, and the shoot axis is striking at early stages of development, making it difficult to delimit these different structures. If growth processes such as timing and duration of growth and meristem fusion or extension are used to explain the vegetative morphology of L. guineensis, visualizing the relationship between the leaf, the stipules, and the shoot axis becomes easier.