Cambial Ontogeny (Storying, Paedomorphosis, Other Changes)

Abstract

A survey of comparative wood anatomy of dicotyledons might not seem suited to discussion of matters that are essentially developmental. However, different developmental pathways result in different outcomes. We cannot understand phenomena such as raylessness, cambial variants (“anomalous secondary growth”), and storying by viewing the end products alone. Even if one can characterize these end products, degrees of intermediacy in expression (e.g., storying of all wood elements versus storying of some) and the interrelationships between these expressions can only be meaningfully interpreted when placed in an ontogenetic context.