Upward leaf movement (hyponastic growth) is frequently observed in response to changing environmental conditions and can be induced by the phytohormone ethylene. Hyponasty results from differential growth (i.e. enhanced cell elongation at the proximal abaxial side of the petiole relative to the adaxial side). Here, we characterize Enhanced Hyponasty-d, an activation-tagged Arabidopsis (Arabidop...

Herbaceous plants rely on a combination of turgor, ground tissues and geometry for mechanical support of leaves and stems. Unlike most angiosperms however, ferns employ a sub-dermal layer of fibers, known as a hypodermal sterome, for support of their leaves. The sterome is nearly ubiquitous in ferns, but nothing is known about its role in leaf biomechanics. The goal of this research was to char...

Oil palm frond (OPF) juice is a potential industrial fermentation substrate as it has high sugars content and the OPF are readily available daily. However, maximum sugars yield and storage stability of the OPF juice are yet to be determined. This study was conducted to determine the effect of physical pretreatment and storage duration of OPF petiole on sugars yield. Storage stability of OPF jui...

We present the leaf anatomy of seven amphibious species of Aeschynomene L. (Papilionoideae, Leguminosae), interpreting their structures and ecological functions, and also, providing information on which their taxonomy can be based, especially of morphologically similar species. We evaluated Aeschynomene americana, A. ciliata, A. evenia, A. denticulata, A. fluminensis, A. rudis and A. sensitiva....

A permineralised rhizome from Mesozoic strata south of Little Swan port, Tasmania, represents a new species of Jvfillnocauiis (M. l'lCiJJn,?ntllZ!. Its stem is 6 x 7 mm across and is surrounded by adhering leaf bases with each having a stipular expansion typical of the Osmundaceae. The xylem of the ectophloic siphonostele comprising this stem is dissected by leaf gaps and consists of 14 xylem s...

In formicine ants, the hair fields associated with the neck and the petiole (alitrunk-petiole and petiole-gaster joints) have long been established to function in graviception. Here, we examine a possible role of these hair receptors in three-dimensional (3-D) path integration of the (formicine) desert ant, Cataglyphis fortis. Cataglyphis judge the ground distance when travelling over hills, al...

Plants are highly attuned to translating environmental changes to appropriate modifications in growth. Such phenotypic plasticity is observed in dense vegetations, where shading by neighboring plants, triggers rapid unidirectional shoot growth (shade avoidance), such as petiole elongation, which is partly under the control of auxin. This growth is fuelled by cellular expansion requiring cell-wa...

Nymphaea has seven species already catalogued in the flood prone areas of the Brazilian Pantanal. However, some species remain difficult to identify and descriptions of the anatomy of vegetative organs are an important tool for infrageneric separation to aid in group taxonomy. The species collected in the Pantanal and prepared according to the usual techniques for anatomical studies showed simi...

White clover (Trifolium repens) foliar ‘grab’ samples were taken pre-grazing from two irrigated experiments at Lincoln University ~6 week intervals August 2019 to May 2021. Clover leaves divided into lamina and petiole before analysis. The results for nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), potassium (K) sulphur (S) concentrations are reported.
 While there seasonal variations, N% S% consistently h...