Taxonomy & Evolution
Extreme Botany Discovers New Nettles
Three new species of nettle have been discovered in China. By itself this is interesting, but not that big news. What makes the story interesting is
annals-of-botany
Mechanisms behind optimal defence patterns (Invited Review)
The optimal defence hypothesis (ODH) predicts that tissues that contribute most to a plant’s fitness and have the highest probability of being attacked will be
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The plant that turns a window into a lethal weapon
One of the most annoying sounds of summer is Thunk! Not a single Thunk! but the repetitive Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! of a fly repeatedly banging its
annals-of-botany
Germination and seed bank dynamics of dimorphic seeds
Heteromorphic seeds can show differences in dormancy and germination, but it is not known how this affects maintenance and regeneration of populations. Cao et al. bury
Plant Cuttings
Turing’s centenial flowers
When flowers are mentioned in the context of Alan Turing (OBE, FRS, maths genius, tortured soul, ‘an enigma inside a colossus’, and one of the main
Reviews
They live among us (or is it the other way around..?)
Plants and Habitats of European Cities is apparently the ‘first explicit comparative account of plant diversity in several cities worldwide’ and the changes therein as a consequence of urban development…
annals-of-botany
Gene-dosage effects of WEE1 in arabidopsis hypocotyls
Over-expression of the cell cycle checkpoint gene, WEE1, may repress growth and development. Spadafora et al. culture explants of Arabidopsis thaliana from an over-expressing
annals-of-botany
DNA content for 407 plant species from the USA
The genome sizes of plants represent a key character often associated with other traits. Bai et al. use flow cytometry to provide prime C-values for
annals-of-botany
Pollination biology of a Chloraeinae orchid
The pollination biology of very few Chloraeinae orchids has been studied to date, and little is known about pollinator behaviour. Sanguinetti et al. study the floral
Plant Cuttings
Duke botanists go gaga over ferns
Yes, I know that ‘everyone and their dog’ has probably written something about this item, but sometimes you’ve just got to go with the flow.
annals-of-botany
Interspecific chromosome exchanges in polyploid Musa
Edible bananas originated mainly from two wild species, Musa acuminata and M. balbisiana, and recombinations between chromosomes occur in polyploid varieties. Jeridi et al. compare homoeologous
Plant Cuttings
A bit of warmth and we all go bananas!?
In a warming world, could bananas really replace potatoes?