Figure 1.
A typical leaf of Alocasia macrorrhiza (L.) Schott, showing the two transect directions for anatomical and physiological measurements.
Figure 2.
Leaf anatomical and structural characteristics from the leaf base towards the apex adjacent to the midrib.
(a) leaf thickness, (b) the ratio of palisade to sponge tissue thickness (P/S ratio), (c) leaf mass per area (LMA), (d) chlorophyll concentrations per area, (e) guard cell length, (f) stomatal density, (g) minor vein length per unit leaf area (minor VLA). The X-axis represents the distance from the leaf base towards the apex within leaves (see Figure 1). Bars denote 1 SE. Each mean value at each point was the average of six leaf discs.
Figure 3.
Leaf anatomical and structural characteristics from the leaf center to the outer regions adjacent to the secondary vein.
(a) leaf thickness, (b) the ratio of palisade to sponge tissue thickness (P/S ratio), (c) leaf mass per area (LMA), (d) chlorophyll concentration per area, (e) guard cell length, (f) stomatal density and (g) minor vein length per unit leaf area (minor VLA). The X-axis represents the distance from the center to the outer regions within leaves (see Figure 1). Bars denote 1 SE. Each mean value at each point was the average of six leaf discs.
Figure 4.
Correlations of stomatal density with leaf vein length per area (VLA) within leaves of Alocasia macrorrhiza.
Data were fitted by linear regression. Error bars indicate ±1 SE.
Figure 5.
Leaf physiological characteristics at midday on sunny days from the basal area towards the leaf apical area adjacent to the midrib and from the center to the outer region and adjacent to the secondary vein.
(a, b) stomatal conductance to water vapor (gs), (c, d) CO2 assimilation per leaf area (A), (e, f) the quantum yield of PSII (ΦPSII), (g, h) leaf water potential. The X-axis indicates the distance from the leaf base towards the tip (left panels) or from the middle vein towards leaf lateral margin (right panels) as illustrated in Figure 1. Bars denote 1 SE. Each mean value at each point was the average of six leaf discs.
Figure 6.
Thermal colour images and the diurnal time courses of leaf temperature in an Alocasia macrorrhiza leaf on a clear day during the rainy season.
In panel a, the different colors represent the differences of temperature within a whole leaf. In panels b (along the midrib) and c (along the secondary vein), the numbers with different colors indicate the distance from the leaf base towards the tip (left panels) or from the middle vein towards leaf lateral margin (right panels) within leaves. Numbers are the distance at the two directions.
Figure 7.
Illustrations of leaf dieback in the marginal areas of Alocasia macrorrhiza.
Photos by S. Li and W.-L. Zhao.