Patterns of resource allocation in a dioecious species Resource allocation between vegetative and reproductive growth will vary over time, and dioecious species may also adopt different strategies for allocation between male and female plants. Sanchez Vilas and Pannell show that males and females of the annual Mercurialis annua differ in temporal patterns of resource allocation [...]
Catch up on plant blogging from the last month at Seeds Aside, where the latest edition of Berry Go Round is up.
Phylogenetics of Ornithogaloideae The taxonomy of subfamily Ornithogaloideae (Hyacinthaceae) has been a matter of controversy in recent decades, with several contradictory taxonomic treatments having been proposed. Martínez-Azorín et al. present a phylogenetic analysis of Ornithogaloideae based on a combination of plastid and nuclear regions and a detailed morphological study. A new taxonomic arrangement is presented [...]
Could airport security gardens be the wave of the future?
Oxidative stress responses in two lichen phycobionts The epiphytic lichen Ramalina farinacea contains two genetically distinct Trebouxia phycobionts. Del Hoyo et al. analyse the effects of oxidative stress on the photosynthetic behaviour in each isolated alga and observe a better physiological response to stress in one of them, which may reflect its greater capacity to [...]
Sunflower nitrogen-stress response and gene expression The hybrid sunflower Helianthus anomalus is endemic to desert sand dunes, which have lower nutrient availability than the habitats of its parental species. Brouillette and Donovan use a cDNA microarray to compare the gene expression of H. anomalus to that of its parents under contrasting nutrient treatments, and identify [...]
Margaret Moran at My Growing Passion has put up a photo of Cryptostylis subulata the Large Tongue Orchid that she has growing in her garden. Her post includes an explanation of how it reproduces. It relies on wasps to pollinate the flower, so to pull in the wasp close enough it mimics a female wasp. [...]