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Heterochrony in Plants

The Intersection of Evolution Ecology and Ontogeny

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Heterochrony in Evolution

Part of the book series: Topics in Geobiology ((TGBI,volume 7))

Abstract

Phylogenetic changes in ontogenetic rates or timing are termed heterochrony. Evolutionary changes in organismal form necessarily arise from alterations in ontogenies, and so it is hardly surprising that heterochrony has profoundly affected the evolution of plants as well as animals. However, because the life cycles, body plans, and growth of plants and animals are so different, the effects of heterochrony are expressed differently in plants than they are in animals. The indeterminate or open growth habit and modular construction of plants lead to much greater environmentally induced phenotypic variation in form than is found in animals. Consequently, even though zoocentric theory has much to offer botanists, the study of heterochrony in plants must take on a character of its own.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, 97331, USA

    Edward O. Guerrant Jr.

  2. Department of Biology, Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon, 97219, USA

    Edward O. Guerrant Jr.

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  1. Department of Geological Sciences, and Graduate Program in Ecology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, 37996-1410, USA

    Michael L. McKinney

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Guerrant, E.O. (1988). Heterochrony in Plants. In: McKinney, M.L. (eds) Heterochrony in Evolution. Topics in Geobiology, vol 7. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0795-0_7

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