Measurements were taken at 4/5 of the stem length towards the base of the stem; means and standard deviations are presented. Differences (%) were calculated using the formula ((L - Ss) Ss-1)×100. Significant differences are marked in bold. *: p <0.05; **: p <0.01; ***: p <0.001.
The Presence of Physical Supports Triggers Lianescent Xylem Formation
To investigate whether the attachment to physical supports triggers the formation of lianescent xylem, we analyzed the secondary xylem anatomy of the longest stems of five supported and five unsupported plants at regular intervals (Fig. 4). Supported plants had longer (6.6 ± 1.6 [SD]) m) and thicker stems (10.4 ± 3.6 mm) compared to unsupported plants (2.7 ±0.8 m long and 9.4 ± 0.8 mm thick).