In Acacia species, the first few leaves are pinnately compound. Then there are leaves with flattened petiole and fewer pinnae. The leave of adult plant has parallel veined flattened petiole and no pinnae. It shows that

Options

A. Leaves of adult plant are reduced to phyllodes while those of the seedling are unreduced
B. The parallel-veined green structures of the adult plant are phylloclades
C. The plant shows developmental heterophylly, compound in seedling and simple in adult plant
D. The leaves of adult plant are unreduced while they are reduced in the seedling stage

Answer

A

Explanation

In Australian Acacia, Parkinsonic etc. leaves are bipinnately compound. The primary rachis of each leaf is short and modified into spine. The secondary rachis is modified into phyllodes. The phyllodes of Acacia are pendent, vertically placed and have few stomata to reduced transpiration.