Laurophylly
Laurophyllie or Lauriphilie (from Latin laurus , laurel and Greek φυλλος , leaf) or laurel leaves denote a morphological expression of leaves in evergreen plants with dark green, medium-sized, coarse, strong, (thin), leathery and elongated, lauroid leaves. Because they usually have a pronounced sheen, they are also known as lucidophyll . They are characteristic of evergreen forests of the fully humid subtropics , which are therefore also known as laurel forests or laurophyll forests. However, neither all plants in the laurel forests are laurophyll, nor do laurophyll plants only occur there. This type of leaf is also found in tropical mountains and in the shady middle and lower layers of tropical rainforests . In addition, some plants such as the holm oak can develop hard, sclerophyll or softer, laurophyll leaves, depending on the environmental conditions .
features
Laurophyll leaves are better adapted to warm and humid climates than sclerophyll leaves. They are only partially stiffened by sclerenchyme and therefore appear leathery . Special protection against cold or dehydration is not developed. Laurophyll leaves are usually oblong oval and often have a trickle tip .
Others
Laurophyllization describes the spread of laurophyllic plants in deciduous forests.
swell
- Michael Richter: Vegetation Zones of the Earth . 1st edition. Justus Perthes, Gotha 2001, ISBN 3-623-00859-1 , p. 155 .
- Gerhard Wagenitz : Dictionary of botany. Morphology, anatomy, taxonomy, evolution. 2nd, expanded edition. Nikol, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-937872-94-0 , p. 181.