Quantitative analyses of sexual expression show extensive interspecific variation in the strength of andromonoecy (proportions of hermaphroditic and staminate flowers) among Solanum species in the monophyletic section Lasiocarpa. The roles of phenotypic plasticity and inter- and intra-inflorescence architecture in the diversification of andromonoecy within this small clade were analyzed. Four s...

Two non-mutually exclusive hypotheses regarding the benefits of andromonoecy (producing perfect and female-sterile flowers on the same plant) are tested using Solanum carolinense. Results indicate that (1) staminate flowers are cheaper to produce than perfect flowers, even after correcting for their relative position in the inflorescence; (2) the resources saved by producing staminate flowers a...

To understand the constraints on biological diversity, we analyzed how selection and development interact to control the evolution of inflorescences, the branching structures that bear flowers. We show that a single developmental model accounts for the restricted range of inflorescence types observed in nature and that this model is supported by molecular genetic studies. The model predicts ass...

Flowers can be classified into two basic types according to their symmetry: regular flowers have more than one plane of symmetry and irregular flowers have only a single plane of symmetry. The irregular condition is thought to have evolved many times independently from the regular one: most commonly through the appearance of asymmetry along the dorso-ventral axis of the flower. In most cases, t...

Sector boundary analysis has been used to deduce the number and orientation of cells initiating flower and floral organ development in Arabidopsis thaliana. Sectors were produced in transgenic plants carrying the Ac transposon from maize inserted between the constitutive 35S promoter and the GUS reporter gene. Excision of the transposon results in a blue-staining sector. Plants were chosen in w...

The chemical constituents of leaves, inflorescence, and flowers from Ocimum basilicum (Thai basil) and Ocimum sanctum (Holy basil) were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The chemical compounds were extracted by hydrodistillation, headspace-solid phase microextraction, and solvent extraction.  The main constituents of Ocimum basilicum were identified to consist of estragole (...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Flower morphology and inflorescence architecture affect pollinator foraging behaviour and thereby influence the process of pollination and the reproductive success of plants. This study explored possible ecological functions of the lever-like stamens and the floral design in Salvia cyclostegia. METHODS Flower construction was experimentally manipulated by removing either t...

Homeodomain-leucine zipper type I (HD-Zip I) proteins are plant-specific transcription factors associated with the regulation of growth and development in response to changes in the environment. Nicotiana attenuata NaHD20 was identified as an HD-Zip I-coding gene whose expression was induced by multiple stress-associated stimuli including drought and wounding. To study the role of NaHD20 in the...