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). […]

Phylogenetic relationships in the ecologically and economically important tribe Shoreeae present a long-standing problem in the systematics of Dipterocarpaceae. Heckenhauer et al. employ next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based genome skimming to obtain whole plastid genome sequences of the tribe. The team successfully used phylogenomic analyses of the entire plastid genomes for inferring phylogenetic relationships among genera and […]

The photoperiod is the period of time that a plant receives light each day. The photoperiod matters to a plant as it contains information about the progress of seasons. Plants use the changing photoperiod as a cue for the correct timing of important life history events, including flowering. Ulla Kemi and colleagues studied the effect […]

In eastern Spain (and many other places if you look) you can find Mercurialis annua, a plant with a complicated sex life. A new paper by Wen-Juan Ma and colleagues examine two polyploid species that formed after Mercurialis annua hybridised, duplicated its genome, and became polyploid. The paper, A new biological species in the Mercurialis […]

Special Issue Guest Editors: Dr. Kasey Barton, University of Hawaii at Manoa Dr. Andrea Westerband, Macquarie University, Australia Dr. Jennifer Funk, Chapman University, California Plant functional trait analysis has emerged as a widespread approach aimed at revealing mechanisms underlying stress tolerance, species distributions and niche space, species interactions, community assembly, and ecosystem dynamics. Functional ecologists […]

The ability of individuals to change sex during their lifetime is known as environmental sex determination (ESD). This ability represents a unique life history trait, allowing plants to allocate resources differentially to male and female functions across lifetimes, potentially maximizing fitness in response to changing environmental or internal cues. Blake-Mahmud and Struwe investigated Acer pensylvanicum, […]

One common prediction for the future is global warming will create stronger storms. What does this mean when a storm hits the shore? It depends what’s on the coast. Researchers from China and the Netherlands have examined how various factors affect marsh vegetation. Dr Zhenchang Zhu, the lead author of the study, said: “Our paper […]

If a plant can lean on something else, does it really need to invest so much in its roots for support? Could resources usually used for roots be redirected to stems and leaves? In a new paper, Tomasz Wyka and colleagues examine the growth of lianas and find that they do grow differently to self-supporting […]

Stomatal development in Ephedra differs significantly from that of Gnetum and Welwitschia, more closely resembling that of other extant gymnosperms. Differences in epidermal pre-patterning broadly reflect differences in growth habit between the three genera.

How can you work out what the climate was like in the past, without having had someone take measurements? One solution is to look at tree rings. The pattern of tree rings can give you an indication of what climate was like overall for a year. That works, so long as you have trees. But […]

Pollinator-mediated interactions between plant species may affect the composition of angiosperm communities. Floral colour signals should play a role in these interactions, but the role will arise from the visual perceptions and behavioural responses of multiple pollinators. Recent advances in the visual sciences can be used to inform our understanding of these perceptions and responses. […]