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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
• A wide range of factors (developmental, physiological, ecological) with unpredictable interactions
control variation in leaf form. Here, we examined the distribution of leaf morphologies
(simple and complex forms) across angiosperms in a phylogenetic context to detect patterns
in the directions of changes in leaf shape.
• Seven datasets (diverse angiosperms and six nested clades, Sapindales, Apiales, Papaveraceae,
Fabaceae, Lepidium, Solanum) were analysed using maximum likelihood and parsimony
methods to estimate asymmetries in rates of change among character states.
• Simple leaves are most frequent among angiosperm lineages today, were inferred to be
ancestral in angiosperms and tended to be retained in evolution (stasis). Complex leaves
slowly originated (‘gains’) and quickly reverted to simple leaves (‘losses’) multiple times, with
a significantly greater rate of losses than gains. Lobed leaves may be a labile intermediate step
between different forms. The nested clades showed mixed trends; Solanum, like the angiosperms
in general, had higher rates of losses than gains, but the other clades had higher rates
of gains than losses.
• The angiosperm-wide pattern could be taken as a null model to test leaf evolution patterns
in particular clades, in which patterns of variation suggest clade-specific processes that have
yet to be investigated fully.
Description
Keywords
Angiosperm Character Complex leaves Development Rate of evolution Reversal Simple leaves Stasis
Citation
New Phythologist