Phyllotactic handedness in Palms

By : Monoranjan Ghose , Bir Bahadur

Page No: 17-24

Abstract
The phyllotaxis of palms is alternate. The leaves are spirally arranged and two consecutive leaves are placed at an angular deflection of about 143° in many palms. The spirality may be left-handed (clockwise) or right-handed (counter-clockwise). The number of foliar spirals varies among different palm species, which follows Fibonacci sequence. In some exceptional palms, the leaves are arranged one vertically above another along two or more vertical rows and the angle between any two consecutive leaves may be 180º, 120º, or 135º. Although asymmetry in palm leaves is not genetically determined, it has been reported that fruit yield is associated with the foliar arrangement in some palms, and found that right-spiralled coconuts and areca nuts produced significantly more fruits than left-spiralled palms.

Authors :
Monoranjan Ghose : Formerly Professor, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata 700108
Bir Bahadur : Botany Department, Kakatiya University, Warangal 506009, Telangana, India
 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32381/JPSR.2019.35.01.2