Abstract
Many plant species produce ovate leaves, but there is no general parametric model for describing this shape. Here, we used two empirical nonlinear equations, the beta and Lobry–Rosso–Flandrois (LRF) equations, and their modified forms (referred to as the Mbeta and MLRF equations for convenience), to generate bilaterally symmetrical curves along the x-axis to form ovate leaf shapes. In order to evaluate which of these four equations best describes the ovate leaf shape, we used 14 leaves from 7 Neocinnamomum species (Lauraceae) and 72 leaves from Chimonanthus praecox (Calycanthaceae). Using the AIC and adjusted root mean square error to compare the fitted results, the modified equations fitted the leaf shapes better than the unmodified equations. However, the MLRF equation provided the best overall fit. As the parameters of the MLRF equation represent leaf length, maximum leaf width, and the distance from leaf apex to the point associated with the maximum leaf width along the leaf length axis, these findings are potentially valuable for studying the influence of environmental factors on leaf shape, differences in leaf shape among closely related plant species with ovate leaf shapes, and the extent to which leaves are bilaterally symmetrical. This is the first work in which temperature-dependent developmental equations to describe the ovate leaf shape have been employed, as previous studies lacked similar leaf shape models. In addition, prior work seldom attempted to describe real ovate leaf shapes. Our work bridges the gap between theoretical leaf shape models and empirical leaf shape indices that cannot predict leaf shape profiles.
Highlights
IntroductionThe ovate leaf shape is a common geometric form among many plant species, especially in the Lauraceae
There is no strict distinction between these two leaf shapes, the difference between these two kinds of shapes comes from the variation in the ratio of leaf width to leaf length [1,2,3]
Dornbusch et al [15] proposed an empirical model to describe the leaf shapes of several crop species (i.e., Triticum aestivum, Hordeum vulgare and Zea mays cultivars). The advantage of this model is that it only requires information pertaining to leaf length, leaf maximum width, and the ratio of the distance from the leaf apex to the point on the leaf length axis associated with the leaf maximum width
Summary
The ovate leaf shape is a common geometric form among many plant species, especially in the Lauraceae. There is no strict distinction between these two leaf shapes, the difference between these two kinds of shapes comes from the variation in the ratio of leaf width to leaf length [1,2,3]. Previous studies show that a simplified version of a polar coordinate equation (proposed by Gielis [4]) can describe all shapes of bamboo leaves, including narrow linear leaves and even some with approximate ovate shapes [5,6]
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