Branching monopodial

N.B, In a sympodial structure the axes may have a monopodial brancning for some time up to several years, but eventually the terminal bud will flower and die. Such a mixture of main monopodial and ultimate sympodial branching in an inflorescence is the thyrse (see 45.3.1). To decide what type is involved, the relative position of axes, leaves or bracts, and inflorescence or flowers (check for scarsl) must be observed very carefully for instance the presence of a leaf on a branch opposite to the inflorescence clearly indicates the sympodial type the apparently lateral inflorescence is in fact the terminal bud, while the apparent straight continuation of the stem is in fact the outgrowth of the axillary bud of the leaf. 

Ptychomnion cygnisetum is a nanandrous species hence character state coding of characters 1-25 refers to female plants only. Ramification type of P. cygnisetum could not be determined with certainty. Ramification seems to be monopodial, but in the material examined the older parts of the (female) plants are usually damaged or not collected. Occasionally, ramification shows some resemblance with sympodial branching. Hattaway s (1984) description of ramification is, unfortunately, inconclusive. Hence, the state of character 1 is coded as unknown for this species. 

Brood branches are much smaller than ordinary branches and are easily broken off. They are usually clustered in leaf axils just below the stem apex. They are always a result of monopodial branching. 

Reiteration can be monopodial or sympodial. Both types reproduce the developmental sequence from juvenile to mature. Monopodial reiteration involves the dedifferentiation of the apical mer-istem, which reverts to the production of juvenile tissne (e.g., repeating the heteroblastic series of axis development). The resnlt in this case is a continnous axis with the heteroblastic series repeated in tandem. In contrast, sympodial reiteration develops from dormant lateral buds to reproduce the architectural unit as a lateral branch. 

La Farge-England (1996) provided a detailed overview of growth form, branching pattern and perichaetial position in mosses. She also provided definitions of sympodial and monopodial branching patterns, indicating that these processes occurred at different hierarchical levels. 

However, lateral branching on a monopodium (monopodial branching in a broader sense) can also produce branches at the same level of hierarchy as the parent axis. For example new innovation shoots can be produced as lateral branches on a monopodium. These new primary modules develop new architectural units. 

This view extends the definition of monopodial branching to cover the production of lateral branches of the same level of hierarchy as the parent axis, i.e., new primary modules borne on a primary module that is, or is part of (see monopodial reiteration), a monopodium. 

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