Recent tissue-level observations made indirectly via flow cytometry show that endoreplication (partial or complete duplication of the nuclear genome in the absence of subsequent cell division) may represent a significant component of a plant’s developmental programme. Bateman et al. directly observe ploidy variation among cells within individual petals, relating size of nucleus to cell micromorphology […]

The dynamics and distribution of plant leaf area are results of synchronization in phyllochron, leaf expansion, life span, axes emergency and senescence within the branching structure.

The shape of the root system creates a lot of the context for plants to interact with a source of nutrients, water and pathogens. If you can characterize root system architecture, then you can investigate root functions and interactions. However, examining this is difficult, partly for the obvious reason that soil is difficult to see […]

Root cortical senescence (RCS) is a poorly understood phenomenon with implications for adaptation to edaphic stress. Schneider et al. demonstrate that ethylene modulates RCS.

How good are trees at directing their stems to the sky and how do they do it? Scientists in Japan and Bangladesh have been finding out, by changing which way is up.

Beauvoit and colleagues argue the metabolic processes in fruits are similar enough to make understanding primary metabolism a useful way to improve fruit quality.

Many African genera of the Amaranthaceae exhibit unique inflorescences that include sterile flowers modified to hooks or spines. Considering that the abundance of large terrestrial herbivores increased on the African continent with the expansion of grassland and savannah ecosystems, modified sterile flowers could have been an innovation that boosted the diversification of an African achyranthoid […]

The structural properties of leaf venation and xylem anatomy strongly influence leaf hydraulics, including the ability of leaves to maintain hydraulic function during drought. Blackman and colleagues examined the strength of the links between different leaf venation traits and leaf hydraulic vulnerability to drought (expressed as P50 leaf by rehydration kinetics) in a diverse group of […]

Stomata, pores in the plant epidermis that regulate gas exchange, are a key innovation that enabled freshwater algae to colonize Earth’s landmasses some 500 Mya. Because stomata in bryophytes occur on sporangia, they are subject to different developmental and evolutionary constraints from those on leaves of tracheophytes. No conclusive experimental evidence exists on the responses […]

Pollen tubes are rapidly growing, photosynthetically inactive cells that need high rates of energy to support growth. Energy can derive from internal and external storage sources. The lack of carbon sources can cause various problems during pollen tube growth, which in turn could affect the reproduction of plants. Parotta and colleagues analysed the effects of […]

Camptotheca is endemic to China and there are limited data about the breeding system and morphogenesis of the flowers. Camptotheca is thought to be related to Nyssa and Davidia in Nyssaceae, which has sometimes been included in Cornaceae. However, molecular phylogenetic studies confirmed the inclusion of Camptotheca in Nyssaceae and its exclusion from Cornaceae. Gong et al. reveal developmental features of the inflorescence and […]

Trees can adapt their architecture in response to climate change by adjusting growth processes such as leaf neoformation and polycyclic growth. Tondjo et al. present work aimed to improve the plant growth model GreenLab in order to take into consideration these processes through stochastic functions. The model is tested using existing data collected on planted […]