Chen et al. investigate the impact of a summer water stress on tree development and organ growth in three apple cultivars at tree, shoot and organ scales. A common response was found: water stress accelerated tree ontogeny by promoting summer growth arrest and reducing neoformation. Even if the impact of water stress slightly differs among […]

Bakker et al. find a positive relationship between plant size (V) and seedbank size (S), the SV relationship, using the invasive shrub Ulex europaeus as an example. Bigger plants produce more seeds and ultimately accumulate more seeds in the soil. Compared to the native context (France), the absence of pre-dispersal seed predators in La Réunion […]

Apomixis in angiosperms is associated with polyploidy and hybridity. In Paspalum rufum, some sexual diploids show apomixis potential. As apomixis seems to derive from a deregulation of the sexual pathway, Soliman et al. carried out a comparison of the reproductive developments and apospory initials (AIs) emergence between diploid and tetraploid cytotypes. Cytoembryological observations evidence reproductive […]

Like positive effects of species diversity, genetic diversity may have strong positive effects on agricultural ecosystems and positively influence production and species abundances in multispecies covers. But the effects of genetic diversity have not been much studied. Meilhac et al. study five species mixtures in temporary grasslands that differ by levels of genetic diversity. For […]

The widely distributed Cystopteris fragilis brittle bladder-fern, complex is a challenging system for studying polyploid evolution, cytotype diversity, distribution and ecology. Hanušová et al. screen cytotypes over the global range of the species: common and widespread tetraploids and hexaploids coexist, with 40% mixed-ploidy populations. High ploidy-level diversity matches the well-documented patterns in some angiosperms. The […]

Water-impermeable seeds have structures (“water gaps” or lens in legumes) for detecting environmental cues that cause them to become water-permeable (nondormant). Physical dormancy is common in legume species, whose seeds may have a visibly-demarcated structure called the pleurogram. Rodrigues-Junior et al. update the occurrence of the pleurogram in plant taxa and show for the first […]

Locally adapted landraces provide unique genetic resources to raise grain yields in poorly-fertile marginal soils. Schmidt et al. evaluate the tolerance to manganese deficiency for a population of genetically diverse European barley landraces and modern elite cultivars. A subgroup of Scottish barley landraces demonstrated superior capacity to acquire and allocate manganese to the shoot. These […]

A water-impermeable testa may act as a barrier to seed imbibition, imposing dormancy. Janská et al. test six pea accessions of contrasting dormancy type for their ability to imbibe. The strophiole is identified as the major site for the water entry into non-dormant seed, while in dormant seeds water uptake is distributed, rather than localized. […]

Flowering plants show a high diversity of pollen morphology. This diversity is assumed to reflect not only variations in the underlying design, but also stress imposed by ecological conditions related to pollen survival and germination. Both components are expected to constrain accumulation of pollen disparity. Yu et al. perform a combination of phylogeny-based and statistical […]

Crops like sugarcane, rice, wheat and maize rely on irrigation. As they’re so thirsty, they are also susceptible to drought. Finding a way to protect the crops from drought is a challenge that needs a solution as soon as possible. One option for improving a plant’s ability to cope with water limitation is through transgenic […]

Tropical understory communities are highly diverse, and plants in these environments must optimize functional traits to ensure ecological and evolutionary success. Campany et al. survey the ecophysiology of two spore bearing vascular plant groups, Selaginella and ferns, in a lowland Costa Rican tropical forest understory. Selaginella in shade has higher chlorophyll levels and lower light […]

Vessel size and density are known to adjust in broadleaf plants after mechanical damage to stem or roots. This significantly alters the hydraulic conductivity of xylem and transpiration capacity of the tree. Tumajer and Treml perform experiments with Silver birches, Betula pendula (Betulaceae), which were mechanically treated to simulate natural disturbances (e.g., landslide, windstorm, flood). […]