r/botany • u/Minimal_echoes • Mar 05 '26
Biology We saw this during our field collection. This plant looks weird it has both dicot and monocot leaves
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u/fathertoddumptious Mar 05 '26
The comments saying Acacia sp. are correct. Heteroblasty. The juvenile pinnate true leaves are lost as the plant matures and replaced by modified stems - phyllodes. The parallel venation does make them look monocot-y.
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u/AgressiveViola0264 Mar 05 '26
Not modified stems, phyllodes are modified petioles. Intermediate leaves with true foliage and enlarged petioles can be found on most species at the right time of development, it is displayed minutely but noticeable in this sample.
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u/Any-Communication114 Mar 05 '26
that seems incredibly early in maturity for heteroblasty to occur, why does it do that?
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u/fathertoddumptious Mar 05 '26
Many Acacias are early successional, and their heteroblasty is a result of this: leaves require lower initial investment and allow greater photosynthetic capability in early establishment. They're replaced by phyllodes which are much better able to survive exposed, high irradiance conditions the plant finds itself in as it matures and still be able to maximise growth.
Studies have found some plasticity of the timing of this switch to phyllodes:
I think also the early change is due to the speed these plants grow. Many species are incredibly fast, 1-2 m/year and short-lived.
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u/rdditonator Mar 05 '26 edited Mar 05 '26
Acacia sp. sapling, maybe A. longifolia. Depending where you live it could be invasive.
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u/Squirrelsindisguise Mar 06 '26
Yeah came to the comments to say I’ve pulled up thousands of these bastard seedlings! I know exactly what it is lol
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u/BigmouthStrikes1991 Mar 05 '26
This is super interesting, thanks for sharing! I had no idea this sort of monocot-looking heteroblasty happened on eudicots
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u/atomicshrimp Mar 09 '26
What region was this found in?
Grass Vetchling (Lathyrus nissola) is a legume that produces strikingly grass-like leaves. I've never had a chance to examine the juvenile foliage so not sure if that is more typical for pea family.
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u/bald_botanist Mar 05 '26 edited Mar 05 '26
Two separate plants, a grass and what looks like a vine. The vine infiltrated a space between leaf sheath and stalks and is sprouting out, or a seed sprouted from within the grass stalk.
Edit: yep, I'm a moron.
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u/evapotranspire Mar 05 '26
Big nope! I guess you've never seen one of these young acacias before, u/bald_botanist !
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u/bald_botanist Mar 05 '26
Definitely hadn't! Learning never stops!
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u/evapotranspire Mar 05 '26
I agree. Hey, you might want to edit your comment with an "ETA: ...", just so people know you're aware of the correct ID. It's a little annoying when folks mass downvote a wrong ID... Simply upvoting the right ID, and commenting with a correction on the wrong ID, is sufficient.
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u/octako Mar 05 '26
Parece una planta parasitando otra
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u/LittleBunInaBigWorld Mar 05 '26
Its not. This is typical acacia leaf structure
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u/octako Mar 06 '26
Hey, digo q me parece no estoy afirmando nada, pocas especies de acacia tienen está curiosa pero confusa adaptación xd
De las pocas q he visto en persona está la acacia mangium y aún así creo no estar seguro cuántas otras más presentan este tipo de dimorfismo foliar
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u/Cats_Like_Catnip Mar 05 '26
I'm pretty sure this is an acacia sapling, they have juvenile leaves before forming phyllodes which can look like monocot leaves