1 Phenological patterns of flowering and fruiting are presented for 5800 trees of a Philippine submontane forest community during a 4-year period. Circular vector algebra allowed species to be grouped into annual (34 species), supra-annual (3), irregular (7), and continuous (13) reproducers. 2 Windand gravity-dispersed species had extended fruiting periods coinciding with the typhoon season (Ju...

In the present study effects of production history on tuber sprout, root, stem development and crop yield of seed potato cultivars Fambo and Van Gogh were investigated in the High Grade Area of Finland (64.9 N, 25.4 E). The haulms of seed potatoes were destroyed at the time of flowering (50 days after planting, DAP), three weeks after flowering (75 DAP) and as a control the haulm was left to na...

The adaptation of plants to natural environments depends on the adaptation of flowering-time control at the appropriate season to set seeds. Possible molecular mechanisms underlying this adaptation have recently been revealed. In Arabidopsis thaliana, a model long-day plant, control of floral transition by vernalization and long-day floral promotion pathways is a key regulator in adaptation to ...

Some walnut trees (Juglans regia L.) originating from central Asia display an early flowering phenotype. These "Early Mature" (EM) trees may produce flowers within months of germination. Secondary flowering waves are also observed within a growing season. Inflorescences may carry male, female and hermaphrodite flowers. Progeny obtained from selected EM trees were cultured in vitro to initiate c...

Flowering is the result of the coordination between genetic information and environmental cues. Gene regulatory networks have evolved in plants in order to measure diurnal and seasonal variation of day length (or photoperiod), thus aligning the reproductive phase with the most favorable season of the year. The capacity of plants to discriminate distinct photoperiods classifies them into long an...

Legumes were among the first plant species to be domesticated, and accompanied cereals in expansion of agriculture from the Fertile Crescent into diverse environments across the Mediterranean basin, Europe, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Although several recent studies have outlined the molecular basis for domestication and eco-geographic adaptation in the two main cereals from this...

Plant communities in the European Alps are assumed to be highly affected by climate change, as the temperature rise in this region is above the global average. It is predicted that higher temperatures will lead to advanced snowmelt dates and that the number of extreme weather events will increase. The aims of this study were to determine the impacts of extreme climatic events on flower phenolog...

—Seed predation has the potential to strongly reduce seed production and thereby act as a selective force on the evolution of flowering traits and other defenses against herbivory. We characterized levels of predispersal seed predation on Hibiscus moscheutos (Malvaceae) during 2001 and 2002 at four sites in Ohio and Maryland, USA. The seed predators were a weevil, Conotrachelus fissinguis (Cole...

There is discussion over whether pollen limitation exerts selection on floral traits to increase floral display or selects for traits that promote autonomous self-fertilization. Some studies have indicated that pollen limitation does not mediate selection on traits associated with either pollinator attraction or self-fertilization. Primula tibetica is an inconspicuous cross-fertilized plant tha...

Dust deposition to mountain snow cover, which has increased since the late 19(th) century, accelerates the rate of snowmelt by increasing the solar radiation absorbed by the snowpack. Snowmelt occurs earlier, but is decoupled from seasonal warming. Climate warming advances the timing of snowmelt and early season phenological events (e.g., the onset of greening and flowering); however, earlier s...