Vascular Construction and Development in the Aerial Stem of Prionium (Juncaceae) Author(s): Martin H. Zimmermann and P. B. Tomlinson Source: American Journal of Botany, Vol. 55, No. 9 (Oct., 1968), pp. 1100-1109 Published by: Botanical Society of America Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2440478 . Accessed: 19/08/2011 13:58 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
[email protected]. Botanical Society of America is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to American Journal of Botany. http://www.jstor.org Amer.J. Bot. 55(9): 1100-1109.1968. VASCULAR CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELIOPMENT IN THE AERIAL STEM OF PRIONIUM (JUNCACEAE)1 MARTIN H. ZIMMERMANN AND P. B. TOMLINSON HarvardUniversity, Cabot Foundation,Petersham, Massachusetts and FairchildTropical Garden, Miami, Florida A B S T R A C T The aerial stemof Prioniumhas been studiedby motion-pictureanalysis which permits the reliabletracing of one amonghundreds of vascularstrands throughout long series of transverse sections.By plottingthe path of many bundles in the maturestem, a quantitative,3-dimensional analysisof their distribution has beenmade, and by repeatingthis in theapical regionan under- standingof vasculardevelopment has been achieved.In the maturestem axial continuityis maintainedby a verticalbundle which branches from each leaf tracejust beforethis enters the leaf base.