Somatic reduction in cycads

Abstract

Recurrent somatic reduction is a normal ontogenetic process in apogeotropic roots of cycads, which develop into dichotomously branching coralloid masses. The reduced cells make up part of a ring of differentiated cortical tissue lying midway between the pericycle and the epidermis; they serve as fillers among the large cells and become charged with slime. The differentiated tissue is colonized by a species of blue-green algae.