Several widespread tree species of temperate forests produce desiccation-sensitive seeds, but the ecological significance of this is largely unknown.

Some plants live in environments where fire is a frequent enemy to survival. The answer is turn fire to your advantage.

Early life-history stages of cacti can benefit from the facilitative effects of nurse plants that reduce solar radiation and water stress. Miranda-Jácome et al. conduct a reciprocal transplant experiment, coupled with the artificial manipulation of sun/shade conditions, to test for the effects of local adaptation on germination, seedling survival and growth of the columnar cactus Pilosocereus [...]

Celastrus paniculatus, “the intellect tree”, is a climbing shrub with medicinal properties found throughout India. And it’s under threat.

α -Amylase in grass caryopses (seeds) is usually expressed upon commencement of germination and is rarely seen in dry, mature seeds. However, Goggin and Powles show that selection for low dormancy in Lolium rigidum results in constitutive expression of an aluerone-localized α-amylase activity that is, unexpectedly, responsive to both gibberellin and glucose. This activity appears late [...]

Pollen grains contain numerous hydrolytic enzymes, many of which are released upon contact with the stigma. Rejón et al. carry out for the first time a systematic functional classification of esterases in pollen grains from a plant with a wet stigma, Olea europaea. They find that olive pollen esterases can be classified into four functional groups: [...]

Seeds from different populations of the same species often show distinct germination responses to the smoke-derived chemical karrikinolide (KAR1), thus limiting its potential for use in weed management. Gorecki et al. study the effect of the environment during seed development (i.e. the parental envioronment) on the KAR1-response of seeds from different populations of Brassica tournefortii and [...]