Morphogenesis of the compound leaf in three genotypes of the pea, Pisum sativum

Leaf anatomy, ontogeny, and morphology were described and compared in a pea line (Pisum sativum L.) with conventional leaves and in isogenic lines carrying the mutations af (afila) or tl (tendril-less or acacia). The anatomy of stem, petiole, and rachis is not modified by these mutations. The tendrils, which in af replace leaflets, have normal tendril anatomy, and the terminal leaflets of the tl form have normal leaflet anatomy. The shoot apical dome has the same size and shape in the three genotypes, as does the leaf primordium up to the stage of initiation of the first laterals. The mature morphology of leaves varies with node of insertion. Some leaves, especially at nodes 3 and 4, have structures that are not typical of their genotype. An in vitro culture system is described for axillary shoots. Such shoots recapitulate most of the foliar features of seedling plants, but leaf morphology is on average more complex, and aberrant structures are more frequent. All these observations are discussed in relation to Young's algebraic model for compound leaf development.