Structure and Development of Cyclanthus bipartitus Poit. (Cyclanthaceae) with Reference to Other Cyclanthaceae. II. Adult Leaf

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Abstract
The adult leaf of C. bipartitus may grow substantially larger than hitherto realized; it has a lamina, petiole and open leaf sheath. The leaf primordium has upper and lower leaf zones which develop into lamina and sheath, respectively; the petiole develops from a narrow band of tissue between these zones. At all stages of ontogeny the lamina is bifacial and lacks a precursor tip. The developing lamina folds in a complicated yet very consistent manner and late in development characteristically becomes divided into 2 segments by tearing along a predetermined line. All of the evidence suggests that the pistillate or staminate unit of the spadix represents either an individual flower bud or a group of congenitally fused, collateral flower buds. Present findings are relevant to interpreting cyclanthoid spadices in terms of carludovicoid ones.