EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation (Charles Sturt University and NSW Department of Primary Industries), School of Agricultural & Wine Sciences, Locked Bag 588, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga NSW 2678, Australia.
Ann Bot. 2012 Jan;109(1):1-2; discussion 3-4. doi: 10.1093/aob/mcr233. Epub 2011 Aug 24.
The branches of Wollemia nobilis are unbranched; however, it has been noted that new branches can form from the distal end of damaged ones, and branches can grow from axillary structures once a terminal strobilus has fallen. Tomlinson and Huggett (2011, Annals of Botany 107: 909-916) have recently investigated the formation of these reiterative branches and stated in the title of their paper that 'Partial shoot reiteration in Wollemia nobilis (Araucariaceae) does not arise from "axillary meristems"'. They go on to state 'Further research may reveal the presence of these elusive, but still only hypothetical, axillary meristems'.
In this Viewpoint, I argue that Tomlinson and Huggett do not refer to previously published information that indicates that axillary meristems are present in Wollemia nobilis branch leaf axils, and that their anatomical methods were probably not optimal for locating and examining these minute structures. Thus, whilst I would agree that the axillary meristems in branch leaf axils of Wollemia nobilis are elusive, I contend that they are not hypothetical.
沃勒姆尼亚树的树枝不分叉；然而，人们注意到，受损的树枝末端可以形成新的树枝，一旦顶生球果掉落，腋芽也可以长成树枝。Tomlinson 和 Huggett（2011 年，《植物学年鉴》107：909-916）最近研究了这些重复分枝的形成，并在论文标题中指出，“沃勒姆尼亚树（南洋杉科）的部分枝条重复生长并非源自“腋芽分生组织”。他们接着指出，“进一步的研究可能会揭示这些难以捉摸但仍然只是假设的腋芽分生组织的存在”。
在本观点中，我认为 Tomlinson 和 Huggett 并没有提到之前发表的信息，这些信息表明沃勒姆尼亚树的树枝叶腋中存在腋芽分生组织，而且他们的解剖方法可能不太适合定位和检查这些微小的结构。因此，虽然我同意沃勒姆尼亚树树枝叶腋中的腋芽分生组织难以捉摸，但我认为它们并不是假设的。
