[Aroid-l] What's a Cataphyll?

From: jonathan.ertelt at vanderbilt.edu (Jonathan Ertelt) on 2007.11.26 at 21:34:55(16741) D. Swartz. Collegiate Dictionary of Botany. 1971. cataphyll - a scale-like leaf as found in buds, cotyledons, rhyzomes, etc.; any rudimentary scale-like leaf which precedes the foliage leaf; the German Niederblatter, an underleaf; a leaf present at the beginning of growth. Hope this helps. Jonathan +More >Readers may remember a note from Bernhard in a recent posting as follows: > >@ English native speakers/botanists: Is cataphyll the right term in >English for "Huellblatt"? Or does the term only describe covering >leafs over an "underground" bud? > >I have had a couple of exchanges with him and have noticed that no >one on the list has bellyed-up ("belly-up" is an Americanism that >means to step up and take responsibility for a thing) to answer his >inquiry. Perhaps it's because finding out what the heck a cataphyll >is in English is not exactly trivial. > >The only firm reference I found was from our own Deni Bown's famous >book (page 41 in my edition), where she is at pains to differentiate >between extensions of the basic leaf ("sheaths" in her example) and >complete modified leaves (cataphylls) that shield or protect >internodes. Or some such. > >I have reviewed a number of botany books in my possession and none >of them have "cataphyll" 'in the index, even those that helpfully >provide glossaries of technical botanical terms. > >I even checked the definitive dictionary of the English language, >the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). "Cataphyll" is not an entry in >the Second Edition (copyright 2000). But it has an entry for >"Cataphyllary", being an adjective for a noun not listed. The >definition is: "the colorless or brownish scales found on various >parts of plants, esp. underground, regarded as modifications of >foliage leaves". The first reference listed is from 1875. The >definition there is "Scale or 'Cataphyllary -Leaves' are usually >produced on underground shoots . . although they also frequently >occur above ground, especially as an envelope to the winter-buds of >woody plants (as in the horse-chestnut, oak, etc.)". > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/private/aroid-l/attachments/20071126/08b515c8/attachment-0001.htm

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