A one-size-fits-all estimate of leaf area has drawbacks if not all your leaves are the same shape.
Tag - leaf size
Fi Gennu
Historical trends in herbarium specimens could cause misleading observations
Extra care should be taken to avoid misinterpretation of data when looking at centuries-spanning specimens.
Erin Zimmerman
tealeaves: an R package for modelling leaf temperature using energy budgets
Plants are able to grow, survive and reproduce under a wide range of temperatures. Examples of plants that thrive in temperature extremes include cushion plants in alpine ecosystems that grow close to the ground to stay...
William Salter
Stem and leaf growth rates define the leaf size vs. number trade-off
In trees, the trade-off between leaf number and individual leaf size on current year shoots (twigs) is crucial to light interception. This relationship has consequences on leaf energy balance as well as carbon uptake at...
How repeatable is microevolution on islands?
Archipelagos provide a valuable framework for investigating phenotypic evolution under different levels of geographical isolation. García-Verdugo et al. analysed two co-distributed, widespread plant lineages to examine...
Alex Assiry
Links between leaf venation and xylem anatomy to leaf hydraulic vulnerability
The structural properties of leaf venation and xylem anatomy strongly influence leaf hydraulics, including the ability of leaves to maintain hydraulic function during drought. Blackman and colleagues examined the...
botanyone
Revising Corner’s rule: how to best partition twig leaf area
Corner’s rule states that in woody plants, twigs (current-year shoots) with thicker stems support larger leaves. Larger leaf areas require thicker twigs for hydraulic and mechanical support, but a question remains...
Cell expansion links leaf veins and stomata
In some woody plants, adjusting leaf size (via epidermal cell size) balances water supply (veins) with transpirational demand (stomata). However, it is unclear whether this is a general pattern among plant species...
Plant Records: The (Almost) Invisible Giant
Name: Tiama African Mahogany Scientific name: Entandrophragma excelsum Known for: Being freakishly good at hiding despite its size Record broken: Height There was a surprising article in Biodiversity and Conservation...
Alun Salt
My, what big leaves you’ve got
The spatial-temporal patterns of stomatal conductance may represent an adaptation for avoiding local water stress.
AJ Cann