Heteroblastic seedlings of green ash. I. Predictability of leaf form and primordial length

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Abstract
Green ash (Fraximus pennsylvanica var. subintegerrima) seedlings are heteroblastic; during development they produce two types of leaves, simple and compound. When grown under controlled conditions, the sequence of leaf types is predictable. Simple leaves are always at the first four nodes; compound leaves are always at node 8 and above. Nodes 5 through 7 have progressively fewer simple leaves and more compound leaves. Leaf growth on seedlings meets the preconditions of the plastochron index and leaf plastochron index. These indices, as well as the length of single expanding leaves, can be used to predict lengths of leaf primordia at nodes 4 and 8 so that early, simple and compound leaf development can be compared in further studies of green ash.