The ancient order Cycadales (“cycads”), have a pattern of vascular bundles in the leaf axis, seen in transverse section as an inverted “omega”. In the genus Cycas, Tomlinson et al. recreate this system as a 3-dimensional pattern based on images of sequential sections. Each leaflet is supplied by a single trace, from adaxial bundles, renewed […]

Nursery pollination systems are excellent biological models to study how obligated plant-insect mutualisms function and have evolved. Jácome-Flores et al. investigated whether and how the spatial distribution, sex, and flowering synchrony of Chamaerops humilis (Arecaceae) relates to host occupancy by the larvae of its pollinator, the palm flower weevil, Derelomus chamaeropsis (Coleoptera). Interestingly, the remarkable […]

Fibre concentration and dry matter content can be considered as good predictors of both digestibility and decomposability.

The results showed moderate thermal acclimation of respiration and no evidence for thermal acclimation of photosynthesis or local genetic adaptation for traits related to thermal acclimation.

Sixty-four million years ago, this elaborate flower grew in Patagonia, Argentina. The new species described by Jud et al. is named Lacinipetalum spectabilis Jud, Gandolfo, Iglesias & Wilf, gen. et. sp. nov. It was part of the flora that colonized coastal southern South America in the early Paleocene Salamanca Formation after the end-Cretaceous extinction event. […]

The fungus Ramularia collo-cygni (Ascomycotina) has recently become an important pathogen of barley (Hordeum vulgare), causing leaf spotting on upper leaves. McGrann and Brown studied the factors that cause this fungus to change from a harmless endophyte to an aggressive, necrotrophic parasite, contrasting susceptible varieties with one which has strong partial resistance. Changes in concentrations […]

The results show the relative importance of the different factors that may be involved in explaining the occurrence of photoinhibition in Lilioid monocots.

The olive, Olea europaea (Oleaceae), is an iconic species in Mediterranean agriculture yet its origin is complex. Besnard et al. review the literature on the timeline of Mediterranean olive evolution and discuss the questions that remain unanswered. They also propose new avenues of multidisciplinary approaches to investigate the ecological genomics of olive domestication. These findings […]

The enigmatic variation in sex allocation within and among Selaginella species, and differences from the angiosperms, are interesting aspects of land plant biology in their own right, but will also provide useful empirical models for probing the theory of sex allocation.

Seed germination in the arid zone is a high-risk event. For grasses specifically, the ancillary bracts of the floret surrounding the seed have been associated with innate dormancy mechanisms, resulting in infrequent recruitment even under favourable rainfall. Lewandrowski et al. investigate the effects of environmental cues such as temperature, water stress and smoke, on seed […]

Clonal reproduction is a common and important life history strategy in lianas. Mori et al. investigate clonal structure in a temperate deciduous liana species, Wisteria floribunda (Fabaceae), in its natural habitat (an old-growth forest) using microsatellite markers. They find high contribution of clonal reproduction to the abundance and basal area of W. floribunda. Clonal reproduction […]

The collenchymatous tissue in A. rutifolium petioles structurally resembles sclerenchyma, while in biomechanical performance and glycan composition it shares more characteristics with angiosperm collenchyma.