Valdiviana. With the seedlings, falsely called O. tropaeoloides, the cotyledons of which rise very little at night, the small cells were still fewer in number and in parts formed a single transverse row, and in other parts short longitudinal rows of only two or three. Nevertheless they sufficed to attract the eye, when the whole petiole was viewed as a transparent object beneath the microscope. In these seedlings there could hardly be a doubt that the pulvinus was becoming rudimentary and tending to disappear; and this accounts for its great variability in structure and function.
In the following Table some measurements of the cells in fairly well-developed pulvini of O. corniculata are given:--
Seedling 1 day old, with cotyledon 2.3 mm. in length. Divisions of Micrometer.** Average length of cells of pulvinus..................................................6 to 7 Length of longest cell below the pulvinus..................................... 13 Length of longest cell above the pulvinus...................................... 20
Seedling 5 days old, cotyledon 3.1 mm. in length, with the pulvinus quite distinct. Average length of cells of pulvinus.................................................. 6 Length of longest cell below the pulvinus..................................... 22 Length of longest cell above the pulvinus...................................... 40
Seedling 8 days old, cotyledon 5 mm. in length, with a true leaf formed but not yet expanded. Average length of cells of pulvinus.................................................. 9 Length of longest cell below the pulvinus..................................... 44 Length of longest cell above the pulvinus...................................... 70
Seedling 13 days old, cotyledon 4.5 mm. in length, with a small true leaf fully developed. Average length of cells of pulvinus.................................................. 7 Length of longest cell below the pulvinus..................................... 30 Length of longest cell above the pulvinus...................................... 60
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* Longitudinal sections show that the forms of the epidermic cells may be taken as a fair representation of those constituting the pulvinus.
** Each division equalled .003 mm. [page 121]
We here see that the cells of the pulvinus increase but little in length with advancing age, in comparison with those of the petiole both above and below it; but they continue to grow in width, and keep equal in this respect with the other cells of the petiole. The rate of growth, however, varies in all parts of the cotyledons, as may be observed in the measurements of the 8-days' old seedling.
The cotyledons of seedlings only a day old rise at night considerably, sometimes as much as afterwards; but there was much variation in this respect. As the pulvinus is so indistinct at first, the movement probably does not then depend on the expansion of its cells, but on periodically unequal growth in the petiole. By the comparison of seedlings of different known ages, it was evident that the chief seat of growth of the petiole was in the upper part between the pulvinus and the blade; and this agrees with the fact (shown in the measurements above given) that the cells grow to a greater length in the upper than in the lower part. With a seedling 11 days old, the nocturnal rise was found to depend largely on the action of the pulvinus, for the petiole at night was curved upwards at this point; and during the day, whilst the petiole was horizontal, the lower surface of the pulvinus was wrinkled with the upper surface tense. Although the cotyledons at an advanced age do not rise at night to a higher inclination than whilst young, yet they have to pass through a larger angle (in one instance amounting to 63o) to gain their nocturnal position, as they are generally deflected beneath the horizon during the day. Even with the 11-days' old seedling the movement did not depend exclusively on the pulvinus, for the blade where joined to the petiole was curved upwards, and this must be attributed to unequal growth.