Ginkgo leaf shape
posted by Cor Kwant @ 11/30/2005
November 30, 2005
Name: Cor Kwant
About Me: I am a high school teacher, creator and webmaster of The Ginkgo Pages, a non-commercial awarded website about all aspects of the Ginkgo biloba tree, with many photos and videos.
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2 Comments:
The shape of White Oak leaves has been researched. The hotter the leaf, the more the leaves are lobed in order to cool off. Leaves in the shade will have very little lobing. Leaves at the very top or end of the branch have the most sun exposure and heat up the most. This might apply to Ginkgo leaves.
The lobing may also have an effect on wind drag. Sudden gusts of wind could snap a branch off if the leaves resist the wind too much. The more the lobes, the less the surface for wind drag and the greater the ability for the leaves to form a torpedo shape.
There are probably other benefits and drawbacks to leaf shape.
Sincerely,
Karl
I think the G. is not very consistent in the theory about the White Oak leaves. I have photos in my archive that show leaves at the top of branches (long shoots) that are not lobed at all but the opposite is also true...
Some research by Critchfield and Gifford/Foster is mentioned in 'Morphology and anatomy of vegetative organs in G.biloba', Noboru Hara (G.biloba, a global treasure 1997).
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