Development

DEVELOPMENT

It is the sequence of changes that occur in the structure and functioning of an organism during its life cycle from seed germination to its death.

Broadly, it is sum total of growth and differentiation.

Plants follow different pathways in response to environment or phases of life to form different kind of structures.

This ability is called plasticity, e.g., heterophylly in cotton, coriander and larkspur.

In such plants, the leaves of the juvenile plant are different in shape from those in mature plants.

On the other hand, difference in shapes of leaves produced in air and those produced in water in buttercup also represent the heterophyllous development due to environment.