Plasticity of Tree Architecture: Specific and Ecological Variations Found in Aubreville's Model

The crown form and branching pattern of sapling and adult trees of Terminalia catappa, T. latifolia, and an unidentified species of Manilkara are described. Leaf distribution (leaf positions within the crown) and leaf area index are given for the three species. Although they all exhibit the same architectural model, the two species of Terminalia maintain a tiered canopy in both sapling and large adult trees, while Manilkara has a sapling with poorly defined tiers and an adult with a hollow, hemispherical crown. Thus, the same architectural model (Aubréville's) can give rise to different crown shapes due to quantitative differences in branch geometry, degree of reiteration, and longevity of leaf-bearing branch units. Conversely, similar crown shapes can be produced by trees with different models. Manilkara conforms to the monolayer model of leaf arrangement at maturity, but Terminalia cannot easily be described as a monolayer or a multilayer. Adaptive geometry of a tree and its architectural model are not equivalent nor necessarily comparable.