Vestured pits and scalariform perforation plate morphology modify the relationships between angiosperm vessel diameter, climate and maximum plant height.

Shared ancestry among species and correlation between vessel diameter and plant height can obscure the mechanisms linking vessel diameter to current climate distributions of angiosperms. Because wood is complex, various traits may interact to influence vessel function. Specifically, pit vesturing (lignified cell wall protuberances associated with bordered pits), and perforation plate morphology could alter vessel diameter versus climate versus plant height relationships. Using phylogenetically informed analyses, we tested for associations between vessel diameter, climate, and maximum plant height across angiosperm species with different pit vesturing (presence/absence) and perforation plate morphology (simple/scalariform and quantitative variation). We show significantly larger changes in vessel diameter and maximum plant height across climates for species with vestures and simple perforation plates, compared to non-vestured species and those with scalariform plates. We also found a significantly greater increase in height for a given increase in vessel diameter with lower percent of scalariform plates. Our study provides novel insights on the evolution of angiosperm xylem by showing that vessel pit vesturing and perforation plate morphologies can modify relationships among xylem vessels, climate and height. Our findings highlight the complexity of xylem adaptations to climate, substantiating an integrative view of xylem function in the study of wood evolution. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.