Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by HLWATIKA, C. N. M.
Right arrow Articles by BHAT, R. B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by HLWATIKA, C. N. M.
Right arrow Articles by BHAT, R. B.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by HLWATIKA, C. N. M.
Right arrow Articles by BHAT, R. B.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Annals of Botany 89: 109-114, 2002
© 2002 Annals of Botany Company

An Ecological Interpretation of the Difference in Leaf Anatomy and its Plasticity in Contrasting Tree Species in Orange Kloof, Table Mountain, South Africa

C. N. M. HLWATIKA1 and R. B. BHAT*,1

1Department of Botany, University of Transkei, Private Bag X1, Umtata, South Africa

 * For correspondence. E-mail: Bhatr{at}getafix.utr.ac.za

Received: 19 July 2001; Returned for revision: 20 August 2001; Accepted: 29 September 2001.

Leaf anatomy and morphology were studied in 11 tree species growing in an undisturbed forest and the adjoining fynbos for over 50 years. Functional anatomical results suggest that the forest and the fynbos are ecologically distinct. Moreover, leaf anatomy suggests that the foliage is primarily adapted for photosynthesis rather than for control of transpirational water loss. Forest precursor tree species and scrub species exhibit xeromorphy in the fynbos whereas they exhibit mesomorphic features inside the forest. The wide-ranging species, such as Olea capensis subsp. capensis, simulated the response of the forest precursors, with the cuticle being phenotypically plastic between the forest and the fynbos but not between the stream and non-stream habitats. Finally, the forest precursors, the scrub species, and the wide-ranging taxa seem to have anatomical characters which can be modified in the fynbos and therefore allow its colonization by a variety of different species.

Key words: Leaf anatomy, phenotypic plasticity, xeromorphy, morphological adaptation, habitat.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.