LEAF ROLLING AND TRANSPIRATION

Change in leaf shape or form has often been enumerated as a means of reducing transpiration rate by plants experiencing water deficit. Transpiration rate of rice (Oryza sativa L.) leaves artificially rolled and measured by potometer substantiated this intuitive conclusion, while varying wind speed illustrated the dynamic nature and rapidity of the leaf rolling-transpiration rate relationship. This response may significantly augment the frequently reported response to water deficit of stomatal closure especially in the Gramineae in which leaf rolling is a common indication of water deficit. © 1979.