Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Leaves are crucial organs for plants, and their morphology is highly diverse. This article discusses various hypotheses concerning the serration of leaf margins, including the insect deterrence hypothesis, root pressure hypothesis, bud packing hypothesis, support-supply hypothesis, and early season gas-exchange hypothesis. Each of these hypotheses provides potential explanations for the presence of serrations on leaf margins under different environmental conditions. The early season gas-exchange hypothesis is the most substantiated, explaining serrations as a mechanism to enhance photosynthesis during the early stages of plant growth. The article also highlights the importance of leaf morphology analyses in paleobiology and their limitations, especially in cooler climate.
Source: Kosmos
Author: Grzegorz Iszkuło
Institution: Institute of Dendrology
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4407298860