Leaf Mottling: Relation to Growth Form and Leaf Phenology and Possible Role as Camouflage Author(s): T. J. Givnish Source: Functional Ecology, Vol. 4, No. 4 (1990), pp. 463-474 Published by: British Ecological Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2389314 Accessed: 27-04-2016 13:23 UTC Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://about.jstor.org/terms 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]. British Ecological Society, Wiley are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Functional Ecology This content downloaded from 130.223.51.59 on Wed, 27 Apr 2016 13:23:21 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Functional ESSAY REVIEW Ecology 1990, 4, 463-'474 Leaf mottling: relation to growth form and leaf phenology and possible role as camouflage T. J. GIVNISH tion or masking of chlorophyll over portions of the Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin, upper leaf surface, often in a more or less mottled Madison, Wisconsin, USA pattern. Leaves mottled in various shades of green, or marked by splashes or stripes of white (or sometimes purple, red or pink) are characteristic Abstract. The arguments of Smith (1986) bearing of many species of angiosperms, particularly on the adaptive significance of leaf mottling are among understorey herbs in temperate and tropi- criticized and an alternative hypothesis is pre- cal forests (Neger, 1913; Richards, 1952; Morgan, sented.