Perennial plants use bud dormancy as a strategy to survive stressful environments, such as cold temperatures during winter. This strategy is dependent on the ability of the dormant bud to track the length of winter, avoiding early spring budbreak. With sufficient exposure to low, non-freezing temperatures (chilling requirement), grapevine buds transition between early (endodormant) and […]

In angiosperms, diverse floral architectures are shaped by pollinators, and different pollinator–plant interactions may lead to variable selection on floral traits in space and time. Heterostyly (a specific floral syndrome where different morphological flower types are found within a single population) has been shown to accelerate floral diversification in Primulaceae, Amaryllidaceae and Rubiaceae. Studies that […]

Petunia is a genus of flowering plants endemic to South American grasslands. Species of this genus exhibit variation in flower colour and shape, attracting bees, hawkmoths or hummingbirds. This group of plants is thus an excellent model system for evolutionary studies of diversification associated with pollinator shifts. Petunia secreta is a rare species that can be found in […]

Hybridization is a common process that leads to relevant evolutionary and ecological consequences. The genotypes resulting from hybridization commonly show phenotypic traits with intermediate values between both parents, however hybrids can also display phenotypic traits outside the ranges of both parents as a result of heterosis or hybrid vigour. This can allow hybrid offspring to […]

Plant populations vary over time as a result of the effects of environmental variation on life-cycle traits and genetic diversity. It is important to quantify how much populations actually change over time to better understand the response of plants to rapid environmental shifts, such as those imposed by global climate change. A recent study by […]

Soil P deficiency is a major constraint to crop yield in many parts of the world and as such the adaptations of root growth and rhizosphere processes for soil phosphorus (P) acquisition have been investigated intensively in wheat (Triticum aestivum). However, only a few studies have paid attention to shoot P status. A recent study […]

Species-level responses to environmental change depend on the collective responses of their constituent populations and the degree to which these populations are specialized to local conditions. Thermal tolerance limits in ferns remain poorly understood, and even less is known about these limits at the population level. Being the second most diverse group of vascular land […]

Vascular epiphytes account for around 9 % of vascular plants worldwide. The presence of epiphytic flora increases the species richness and structural complexity of forests, as well as providing resources for fauna and offering new sources and routes for nutrient and water cycling in the forest. In a recent study published in AoBP, Vergara-Torres et […]

The genetic diversity and structure of plant populations are determined by the interaction of gene flow, genetic drift and natural selection. These processes are to some extent dependent on the mating system of plants, which in turn is largely determined by floral morphology and in particular the level of herkogamy (spatial separation between anthers and […]

Homoploid hybrid speciation – hybrid speciation without a change in chromosome number and facilitated by ecological divergence – is well known in angiosperms but rare in gymnosperms. To date, only two conifer species are known to have originated in such a manner, Pinus densata and Picea purpurea. There is molecular evidence that P. purpurea originated from the […]

Several hypotheses have been described for the evolution of impermeable seed coat, i.e. physical dormancy. It regulates the timing of seed germination in species of several genera belonging to 18 angiosperm families. It also occurs in some mimetic species whose seeds mimic brightly coloured, fleshy fruits or arilled seeds. However, no attempts have been made […]

Current diversity patterns are influenced by both historic and recent environmental conditions. Quaternary glacial cycles appear to have had a consistent role in shaping the genetic diversity and structure of plant species. Yet despite the unusual combination of the characteristics of the western Mediterranean–Macaronesian area, there are no studies that have specifically examined the effects […]