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View Full Version : A Plant Characteristic Ignored by Taxonomists


aruzinsky
11-03-2017, 10:08 AM
Namely, leaf roll direction.

When a musa leaf roll is viewed from its tip, does the leaf spiral outward

A. typically clockwise?

B. typically counter clockwise?

C. both ways with approximately equal probability?

D. one way or the other depending on whether it grew above or below the equator?

E. None of the above?

Now, examine the leaf rolls of ensetes, aroids, heliconias, strelitzia, gingers, calatheas, etc.. I can't find any discussion of leaf roll direction on the internet therefore I believe it has been ignored by plant taxonomists (There should, at least, be a discussion of why it should be ignored.). I expect this discussion to be the only one of the subject on the internet.

beam2050
11-03-2017, 12:22 PM
good post, something I have wondered about from time to time. might be a matter of species. my ensete rolls in the same direction as the others. is there such a thing as a left handed banana, would it grow faster or slower. I have not read about it but I think that rolling action is what makes it travel through the p-stem.

to bad it does not unroll faster would be a good party game. :drum:

aruzinsky
11-03-2017, 03:10 PM
good post, something I have wondered about from time to time. might be a matter of species. my ensete rolls in the same direction as the others. is there such a thing as a left handed banana, would it grow faster or slower. I have not read about it but I think that rolling action is what makes it travel through the p-stem.

to bad it does not unroll faster would be a good party game. :drum:

Every musa and ensete leaf roll that I've examined was counterclockwise (B). I saw a heliconia (I forgot the species) that did both ways (C). But, an individual plant may have a different roll direction than a sucker of that plant. I should look more closely at aroids to see whether the leaves and flower spathes are rolled in the same direction.

sputinc7
11-05-2017, 11:20 PM
Thanks. Now all our neighbors will think we lost it a little more as we all go stare intently at every plant and pup we have... :D