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Epiphyllous leaves
Epiphylly is the production of
flowers, shoots or plantlets on
the petiole, surface or margin
of a leaf.
Mother-of-thousands Bryophyllum daigremontianum)
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Epiphyllous leaves
Adventitious plantlet formation
There are numerous terms used
to describe plantlet formation
on leaves.
These include:
Apogamy (without gametes)
Vegetative apomixis
Vivipary
Gemmae
Hen and chickens fern (Asplenium bulbiferum )
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Epiphyllous leaves
Adventitious plantlet formation
Adventitious plantlets can form
from various places on the leaf.
These include:
Gemmae
Leaf margin
Leaf blade
Modified leaf blade
Blade – petiole junction
In the axils of leaflets
Leaf tip (apical)
Begonia
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Epiphyllous leaves
Adventitious plantlet formation - Gemmae
Gemmae are clonal plant
fragments produced on the
leaf margin or in specialized
cups of several bryophytes
like mosses and liverworts.
Gemmae cups on the leaf of the
liverwort (Marchantia)
Gemmae cup
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Epiphyllous leaves
Adventitious plantlet formation – Leaf margin
Members of the Bryophyllum genus can
produce plantlets at regular intervals
on the leave margin.
Bryophyllum crenatodaigremontianum
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Epiphyllous leaves
Flower formation on leaves – Leaf blade
Helwingia produces flowers and fruits on
the leaf along the main vein.
Developing fruits
Flowers
Helwingia japonica
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Helwingia chinensis
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Epiphyllous leaves
Adventitious plantlet formation – Leaf blade
The piggy-back begonia was one of
the first plants recognized to show
epiphylly. It produces shoots along
the main veins on the leaf blade.
Current studies suggests that this
is most likely due to the over
production of cytokinin in portions
of the leaf and the expression of
shoot-genes from the leaf tissue.
Piggy-back begonia
(Begonia hispida cucullifera)
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Epiphyllous leaves
Adventitious plantlet formation – Leaf blade
Ferns often produce new plantlets on
leaf fronds with a swollen base
sometimes referred to as a “bulbil”.
Hen and chickens fern (Asplenium bulbiferum )
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Epiphyllous leaves
Adventitious plantlet formation – Leaf blade
The button fern produces compact
“bulbils” resembling buttons along
the main vein of the frond.
Button fern (Tectaria cicutaria )
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Epiphyllous leaves
Adventitious plantlet formation – Modifided leaf blade
Spathicarpa sagittifolia produces a double
row of flowers along the midrib of the spathe
(a modified leaf blade).
Spathe
Flowers
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Epiphyllous leaves
Flower formation on leaves – Modifided leaf blade
In Bougainvillea and linden (Tilia ), the
flowers or inflorescence emerge from
the midvein of the leafy bract.
Bract
Peduncle
Flower
Bract
Pedicel
attachment
Bougainvillea
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Inflorescence
Tilia
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Epiphyllous leaves
Adventitious plantlet formation – Leaf blade-petiole junction
Tolmiea produces
plantlets where the
petiole joins the leaf.
Piggy-back plant (Tolmiea menziesii)
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Epiphyllous leaves
Adventitious plantlet formation – Leaf blade-petiole junction
Certain water lilies can also
produce plantlets where the
petiole joins the leaf blade.
Water lily
(Nymphaea)
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Epiphyllous leaves
Adventitious plantlet formation – Leaflet axils
Plantlets can also be produced in
the axis of the leaflet where the
leaflet attaches to the rachis.
Diplazium
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Epiphyllous leaves
Adventitious plantlet formation - Leaf tip
In some species, plantlet formation is
specialized to the leaf tip.
Bryophyllum
delagoense
Asplenium
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Epiphyllous leaves
Adventitious plantlet formation - Leaf tip
The walking fern produces a new plantlet at the elongated tip of
the frond. This permits the plant to vegetatively propagate and
colonize a favorable environmental niche.
Leaf tip extension
Leaf
Plantlet
Petiole
Walking fern (Camptosorus rhizophyllus )
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Epiphyllous leaves
Adventitious plantlet formation - Leaf tip
Original plant
Plantlet
Plantlet
Plantlet
Plantlet
Can you find the plantlets ?
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Walking fern (Camptosorus rhizophyllus )
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Epiphyllous leaves
Adventitious plantlet formation
Plantlet formation can be a natural form
of vegetative propagation. Similarly, leaf
detachment in some species can also lead
to new shoot growth at the basal or cut
section of the leaf that can be used for
horticultural propagation.
Crassula
Sedum
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