The Apical Organization and Phyllotaxis of the Oil Palm

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Abstract
The oil palm apex is described, together with investigations of its phyllotaxis as revealed by apical dissection and measurements on mature stems and axillary structures. The rate of growth of the apex is remarkably low, being correlated with both plastochrone and phyllotaxis height. This is discussed in relation to the rates of dry-matter production determined for adult palms. The phyllotaxis as determined in the apex is remarkably constant, irrespective of extremes of age and habitat, and the same pattern is found almost unchanged in the leaf bases on mature stems growing under plantation conditions. Modification of the characteristic phyllotaxis height occurs due to internal factors resulting in the basal swelling of the palm stem and the different phyllotaxis of branching systems, both vegetative and reproductive, and also due to external factors which cause constrictions in the stem. These modifications result from different rates of longitudinal and radial growth during development, and cause considerable change in phyllotaxis.