Peter,
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my inquiry. As I understood it:
A cataphyll is a modified leaf which lacks a blade and in appearance corresponds to a petiole
sheath. (DOES THIS MEAN THAT A PEDUNCLE DOES NOT HAVE A CATAPHYLL??) Does a cataphyll occur only in Araceae or might it be found elsewhere (name some examples). What is the function of the cataphyll ? (to provide protection to the emerging petiole and leaf??) Do some (many or most) Aroids have cataphylls?
This is really weird language "corresponds to a petiole sheath" Why not say that the cataphyll sheaths the petiole?
As I recall, from a conversation about 30 or 40 years a go, a cataphyll that falls off the plant is called a deciduous cataphyll and one that stays on is called a persistent cataphyll.
Your comments and corrections are, as always, appreciated.
My very best regards,
David Leedy
On Friday, October 21, 2016 4:21 PM, Peter Boyce <phymatarum@gmail.com> wrote:
Hello David,
Taken from Flora of Thailand
cataphyll =E2=80=93 a modified leaf which lacks a blade and in appearance corresponds to a petiole
sheath; may be used to describe other leaf types whose technical names are defined by position
rather than form, e.g., prophylls are usually of cataphyll shape in Araceae, compare, prophyll.
prophyll =E2=80=93 the first leaf of a branch (or sympodial unit); in Araceae almost always a 2-keeled
cataphyll, often confused with cataphyll; cataphyll refers to a particular type of morphology
(reduced leaf), prophyll refers to the position of the leaf along a branch.
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