Development of Carnivorous Pitcher Leaves

Abstract

Carnivorous plants produce morphologically complex leaves that serve as a trapping device. Among a variety of the trap leaves, pitcher-shaped leaves have been considered to have evolved by drastic morphological changes, since no evolutionary intermediate has been identified in both extant and extinct species. Here we review roles of organ polarity and cell division patterns in the pitcher development, as well as applications of vertex dynamics model to understand leaf development. Development and evolution of pitcher leaves are inferred from both experimental and computational approaches.