Phenotypic matches between plants and their pollinators often are interpreted as examples of reciprocal selection and adaptation. For the two co-occurring plant species, Heliconia bihai and H. caribaea in the Eastern Caribbean, we evaluated for five populations over 2 years the strength and direction of natural selection on corolla length and number of bracts per inflorescence. These plant trai...

Volatile components of three parts of Pimpinella tragium Vill. (Umbelliferae family) from Iran were investigated qualitatively and quantitatively for the first time. Essential oils were isolated by hydro-distillation from stems plus leaves, inflorescence and seeds of P. tragium individually. The plant materials were collected from Polour (Northeast of Tehran Province). The yields of the ...

The anatomy of leaves and inflorescence axes of Spathanthus (2 spp.), Rapatea (2 spp.), Cephalostemon (1 sp.), and Duckea (1 sp.) (Rapateoideae, Rapateaceae) was studied to identify useful characters for taxonomy. The cross-section shape of inflorescence axis differentiates the genera, while the cross-section shape and structure of leaf midrib has a specific value. The following characteristics...

The aerodynamics of wind pollination selects for an intimate relation between form and function in anemophilous plants. Inflorescence architecture and floral morphology vary extensively within the Poaceae, but the functional implication of this variation remains largely unknown. Here we quantify associations between floret, culm, and inflorescence characteristics for 25 grass species in Kananas...

Variation in the branching of plant inflorescences determines flower number and, consequently, reproductive success and crop yield. Nightshade (Solanaceae) species are models for a widespread, yet poorly understood, program of eudicot growth, where short side branches are initiated upon floral termination. This "sympodial" program produces the few-flowered tomato inflorescence, but the classica...

As knowledge of the gene networks regulating inflorescence development in Arabidopsis thaliana improves, the current challenge is to characterize this system in different groups of crop species with different inflorescence architecture. Pea (Pisum sativum) has served as a model for development of the compound raceme, characteristic of many legume species, and in this study, we characterize the ...

The distribution of carbon (C) into whole grapevine fruiting cuttings was investigated during flower development to determine the relative contribution of inflorescence and leaf photoassimilates in the total C balance and to investigate their partitioning towards other plant organs. A (13)C labelling procedure was used to label C photoassimilates by leaves and inflorescences in grapevine. Inves...

Duration of various stages of inflorescence differentiation and hormone levels in apical buds eventually decide the harvest time, flower uniformity and quality of ornamental plants. The progress in inflorescence differentiation process in the chrysanthemum cultivar ‘Jingyun’ can be divided into nine stages. Following short day induction, it took 4d to reach the growing point hypertrophy stage, ...