Leaf Length Predicts Twig Xylem Vessel Diameter Across Angiosperms

TL;DR

Longer leaves in plants are linked to wider water channels in stems, helping maintain water transport as plants grow taller.

Contribution

Leaf length is shown to predict vessel diameter in stems, complementing conduit widening in maintaining hydraulic conductance.

Findings

Leaf length strongly predicts vessel diameter at the petiole base across angiosperms.

Petiole vessel diameter scales positively with vessel diameter at the twig tip.

Modest increases in leaf length can reduce hydraulic resistance in stems.

Abstract

As plants grow taller, increasing conductive pathlength imposes hydraulic resistance, challenging the maintenance of water transport to leaves. While tip‐to‐base conduit widening along the stem helps mitigate this resistance, theoretical models and empirical data suggest that stem widening alone is insufficient to fully compensate. Here, we explore whether leaf length could contribute to maintaining hydraulic conductance by influencing vessel diameters in the stem. Across a diverse set of angiosperm species, we found that leaf length strongly predicts vessel diameter at the petiole base, and that petiole vessel diameter, in turn, scales positively with vessel diameter at the twig tip. These relationships imply that longer leaves are associated with wider conduits in the stem, potentially boosting stem‐wide permeability. Simple fluid dynamic models show that the steep rate of conduit widening in angiosperm leaves plausibly buffers the resistance costs of increased leaf length. Because vessel diameter scales with the fourth power of conductance, modest increases in leaf length, and thus stem conduits, could lower the resistance not buffered by conduit widening in the stem. Leaf length during height growth may serve as a key mechanism in maintaining hydraulic supply, complementing conduit widening in the stem.

Longer leaves in woody angiosperms have wider petiole vessels, which in turn predict wider twig tip vessels. This linkage may boost stem‐wide conductance, complementing tip‐to‐base widening in maintaining water supply as plants grow taller.

Figures