Describing the type of growth in plants where different leaves or structures develop in distinctly different shapes and forms rather than all looking the same.
From hetero- (different) + -blastic (from Greek blastos, bud/germ). The term describes how some plants produce leaves of different shapes at different stages of development.
Ivy plants are a perfect example of heteroblastic growth—the leaves that form when the plant is young and creeping are completely different in shape from the adult leaves when it's climbing high up on a tree. It's like the plant is literally two different plants at different life stages.
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