Zotz.& Beyschlag 2016 (Article) heteroblasty

How common is heteroblasty in Bromeliaceae? A plea for help in finding the answer

Author(s):—G. Zotz & J. Beyschlag

Publication:—Journal of the Bromeliad Society BSI_V65(3): 186-191. (2016)

Abstract:—In almost all plants, leaf shape and size vary during the development of an individual (= “ontogeny”). Normally, these changes are gradual and rather subtle, but in
a number of species there are abrupt and substantial modifications. Moreover, these changes may not be restricted to leaf form, but also affect other morphological features like leaf arrangement (“phyllotaxy”) or internode length. Goebel (1896) delivered the first formal description of these different developmental pathways. More than a century ago he introduced two terms: “homoblastic” species [from Greek ‘blastos’, shoot] show the typical ontogenetic trajectory with small and gradual changes in features such as leaf shape, whereas “heteroblastic” species are characterized by a substantial and abrupt transition.