Based on a study of a perennial herb Anemone patens L. (Ranunculaceae) in a variety of natural habitats in Saskatchewan, Canada, eight life stages (seed, seedling, juvenile, immature, vegetative, generative, subsenile, and senile) are distinguished and characterized in detail. The species ontogenetic growth patterns are investigated. A. patens has a long life cycle that may last for several dec...

We examine the hierarchical geographic structure of the interaction between a plant, Helleborus foetidus, and its floral herbivores and pollinators (interactors). Six populations from three distant regions of the Iberian Peninsula were used to examine intra- and inter-regional variation in plant traits, interactors and plant fecundity, and to compare, through selection gradient and path analyse...

The extensive use of herbal drugs and their multiple components and modes of action suggests that they may also cause drug interactions by changing the activity of human cytochrome P450 enzymes. The purpose of the present review is to present the available data for the top 14 herbal drug sales in the U. S. Studies describing the effects of herbal drugs on phenotyping substrates for individual C...

Petaloid organs are a major component of the floral diversity observed across nearly all major clades of angiosperms. The variable morphology and development of these organs has led to the hypothesis that they are not homologous but, rather, have evolved multiple times. A particularly notable example of petal diversity, and potential homoplasy, is found within the order Ranunculales, exemplifie...

Absence of petals, or being apetalous, is usually one of the most important features that characterizes a group of flowering plants at high taxonomic ranks (i.e., family and above). The apetalous condition, however, appears to be the result of parallel or convergent evolution with unknown genetic causes. Here we show that within the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae), apetalous genera in at least...

During the monitoring of populations of Anemone sylvestris L. (Ranunculaceae), a protected species in Poland, we found that the seed set is impaired. The fl ower is considered an adaptation that has coevolved to achieve effective pollination and successful fertilization. Therefore we have focused on the morphological and anatomical characteristics of the fl owers of A. sylvestris L. as a prelud...