Paths and Mechanisms of Moisture Movements in Detached Leaves of White Clover (Trifolium Repens L.): I. Losses of Petiole Moisture Direct from Petioles and via Laminae

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Abstract
The experiments described were concerned with losses of moisture from laminae and petioles of leaves of white clover (Trifolium repens L.) detached from parent plants, and with the resistances in the two pathways of loss of petiole moisture—via laminae and direct from petiole surfaces. Methods involving determination of moisture losses from separated laminae and petioles were unsatisfactory and transpiration chambers were therefore used to permit determinations with intact leaves. Up to 24 per cent of the total petiole moisture was lost via the laminae, the amount frequently exceeding that initially residing in the xylem of the petioles. Stomatal, cuticular, and external resistances were calculated at several stages of wilting. Rates of loss of petiole moisture by both pathways were controlled by stomatal and external resistances in the early stages and by cuticular and internal resistances in the later stages. Under certain conditions, transpiration of petiole moisture via the lamina ceased earlier than might have been expected; estimates were made of the resistances involved.

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