Wilson entitled "The Telome Theory" (Wilson, 1953) because there is renewed interest in the concept of telomes in contemporary research into the evolution of plant development with the advent of new research tools in plant molecular biology and also because it is the best clear and concise review and summary in English of Zimmermann's telome originally published in German (Zimmermann 1930, 1938, 1949).
Wilson was an avid proponent of the telome theory and applied it to the flower, for example, in his paper on the stamen (Wilson, 1942).
This is the telome theory, perhaps better termed the " telome concept".
Before considering the telome theory itself, it is desirable to point out that, like many another concept, it did not arise de novo, but was foreshadowed by the work of earlier investigators.
The works of Bower, Lignier, Potonie and others provide a background of the telome theory.
The stimulating papers of Lignier (1903, 1908a, 1908b) embody many of the concepts later incorporated into the telome theory.
The above viewpoints and others related to them have been synthesized into the telome theory by Prof.
The telome theory is psilopsidcentered, for the Upper Silurian to Mid-Devonian Psilophytales (Hicklingia, Taenocrada, Zosterophyllum, Rhynia, Horneophyton, Psilophyton, etc.) are visualized as exemplifying the sporophyte of the ancient vascular plants.
There have been some discussions about heterochrony in relation to the evolution of plant life cycles,
telome theory, stelar evolution, and other aspects related to the evolution of land plants (Mosbrugger, 1995; Takhtajan, 1991; Zimmermann, 1959); these will not be discussed here.