Re: Philodendron Shift in Leaf Morphology

Phil, it is known as ontogeny and is the same thing as a child "morphing" into an adult.  When a baby is born it looks little like an adult human but during the child's life-long ontogeny it changes constantly until reaching adult hood.  Even then the young adult continues to "age" and "morph".

Plants do the exact same thing and constantly change as they age..  You start out with the extremely young sprout which begins to produce leaf blades.  That then turns into the juvenile form of the plant when changes to the pre-adult form and then the adult.  As it become an adult it is capable of reproduction but will continue to change as it grows.  Plants high in the canopy look nothing like the same species found near the ground but they are one and the same species.

This might help:http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Natural%20variation%20within%20aroid%20and%20%20plant%20species.html

Steve



p*@cox.net wrote: 
So how do Philodendrons change from "juvenile' to 'mature" foliage morphologies? What are the mechanisms involved? 

Phil
Medellin
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