Abstract
Rotational‐fit methods were used to examine shape variation in oak leaf morphology by reference to a set of 14 landmarks for each leaf. Within‐tree, between‐tree, and between‐species variations were examined. Generalized least‐squares and generalized resistant‐fit analyses revealed patterns of landmark variation that could be related to leaf architecture. The two species (Quercus palustris and Q. velutina) did not illustrate the same patterns of within‐tree variability nor did they reveal similar degrees of between‐tree variability. Incorporating an affine transformation algorithm resulted in little insight in some comparisons but suggested strong uniform shape change in other comparisons (especially between species). Resistant‐fit mean square statistics were equally variable 1) in upper vs. lower crown samples within trees, 2) between trees within each species, and 3) between species. In addition, resistant‐fit mean square statistics were found to be a poor measure of similarity, whether derived by comparison to a single reference object or by way of pairwise comparisons. Fundamental species differences in leaf shape are suggested by relationships among particular sets of landmarks, although overall shape differences cannot be explained fully by these analyses.
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