Leaf growth question (sand. mainly)

OK, do paph leaves grow from the base or from the tips? If I put a mark on my sanderianum leave near a known fixed location at the base will I see that mark move out and away or will it stay put?

I know, I am WAY to impatient to see growth on this sucker.oke:

Haha. you are impatient but it is a good thing to experiment with. I think it will grow out from the base.

I just realized how wrong one of my early professors was on the subject of plant growth. Perhaps he over-simplified. Anyway, I just learned a bit more here: http://4e.plantphys.net/article.php?ch=t&id=359

- Matt

gore42 said:

I just realized how wrong one of my early professors was on the subject of plant growth. Perhaps he over-simplified. Anyway, I just learned a bit more here: http://4e.plantphys.net/article.php?ch=t&id=359

- Matt

Click to expand...

So... how was your professor wrong???

I've always assumed monocots grew from the base and dicots grew from apical tips. Thus one criteria for being an orchid is growth from the base.

OK, I put some marks on the leaves of my sand with a marker two days ago.

THERE IS MOVEMENT OF THE MARKS ALREADY!

I will wait a little longer and take a picture, probably at one week, if the movement continues and is quite substantial.

The correct answer is... they neither! They just don't grow at all!!!! oke:

OK, I totally forgot to update this thread. This is what I should have posted on 2/23:

On 2/18 I put marks with permanent marker on the terminal leaf at three locations: at the junction where the two lower leaves meet and at the junctions where the edge and ridge of the terminal leaf visually met the same two leaves. Hopefully the picture explains this a bit more.

I noticed some movement after only two days. It was slight enough to possibly be paralax or misalignment of my eyes from where I initially put the marks.

It is VERY obvious now and no amount of alignment error can deny that there has been quite a bit of movement and that it is from the base of the leaf as Heather supposed it would be.

The average amount of movement is 5mm (6 at the bottom, 5 at the left edge and 4 at the right edge. All this in 4 days!!! I think this calculates to about 1 inch a month!!! Maybe I am doing something right!!!!?


I measured the spots today and the center one has moved about 15mm and the one on the left 19mm in 16 days.

Matt

That was a bit more info than I really wanted to know. I read part of the article and gave up....I still don't know how if he was wrong, but I'm just going to take your word for it.

gore42 said:

I just realized how wrong one of my early professors was on the subject of plant growth. Perhaps he over-simplified. Anyway, I just learned a bit more here: http://4e.plantphys.net/article.php?ch=t&id=359

- Matt

Click to expand...

My head was spinning really fast and I gave up after a little bit of reading.
What is the answer? does the leaf expand everywhere or just near the trunk?

Also Steven,
I did the same thing like you, In fact I mark all the leaves.
And the marks do not move on any leaf except on the youngest leaf . It move near the base.
What I want to know is the leaf also grows elsewhere?
Maybe we should mark lengths of 1/2 inches along the leaf and see if they increase in lengths.