Claim · model-written summary
Evergreen leaf starch decreased from November to a minimum in January and early February, then increased from late February.
Verbatim
e0“The starch in evergreen leaves, generally speaking, begins to decrease in November, reaching its minimum during January and the beginning of February, and increases again from the end of February.”
Title
On the Starch of Evergreen Leaves and Its Relation to Photosynthesis during the Winter
Kiichi Miyaké Botanical Gazette 1902. doi:10.1086/328232
Other claims from this paper (10)
- Observation Starch contents of evergreen leaves differed among species at a given time.
- Observation Monocotyledons generally had less leaf starch than dicotyledons, gymnosperms and pteridophytes, with none in some species.
- Observation Many evergreen leaves in Tokyo and middle and southern Japan retained mesophyll starch in winter, while some species had none at the coldest time.
- Observation Winter starch in evergreen leaves was generally low compared with other seasons, though abundant in a few species.
- Mechanism Winter photosynthesis formed starch in evergreen leaves, with translocation in the same season.
- Observation Guard cell starch decreased or disappeared in many species in winter, but persisted moderately in a few.
- Observation Most northern Japanese evergreen leaves nearly lost mesophyll and guard cell starch in winter; some retained a little.
- Observation Evergreen leaf starch was generally more abundant in spring than late summer or early autumn.
- Observation Some evergreen leaves in Tokyo had open stomata in winter.
- Observation The investigation did not verify complete winter absence of calcium oxalate crystals from leaves.