annals-of-botany
Light on hemiparasitic plants impacts on their hosts
Although parasitic plant–host associations occur in an ever-changing light environment, there is a poor understanding of how light influences the impact of the parasite
annals-of-botany
Mating system of a heavy-metal-tolerant plant
The pseudometallophyte Noccaea caerulescens is an excellent model to study adaptation to heterogeneous environments, as it grows both on normal and on heavy-metal-rich, toxic
annals-of-botany
A leaf cost–benefit analysis on subtropical ferns
Some fern species occurring in subtropical forests are restricted to shade understorey, whereas others can thrive in disturbed open habitats. Yet mechanisms underlying these distinct distribution
annals-of-botany
Proteome analysis of digestive fluids in Nepenthes pitchers
Carnivorous plants have developed pitcher modified leaves that can trap and digest various prey. These pitchers produce a digestive fluid composed of proteins, including hydrolytic enzymes.
annals-of-botany
Latewood formation by localized cooling of stems in conifers
Localized low temperatures of the stem induced narrow diameters and obvious thickening of secondary cell walls of tracheids, which were identified as latewood tracheids. In addition,
annals-of-botany
Cavitation of intercellular spaces is critical to the establishment of hydraulic properties of compression wood
When the orientation of the stems of conifers departs from the vertical, conifers form compression wood that results in restoration of verticality. Intercellular spaces are formed
annals-of-botany
Hydroxyl radicals attack pectins in ripening fruit
Pectin degradation, causing the softening of ripening fruit, has been proposed to be partly enzymic and partly due to non-enzymic scission by hydroxyl radicals (•OH)
annals-of-botany
Reproductive organ and young tissues show constrained elemental composition
Current knowledge of plant stoichiometric homeostasis is mainly obtained from the mature leaf, with little from other organs across different developmental stages. Yan et al. conducted
annals-of-botany
Variability in style deflexion and its fitness consequences
Variability of floral traits within individuals is usually regarded as developmental noise and not considered in studies of adaptive evolution. Dai et al. measure style deflexion,
annals-of-botany
Cell wall matrix polysaccharides and mesophyll cell morphogenesis
The acquisition of the photosynthetic mesophyll cell shape in the dicotyledonous species Vigna sinensis and the fern Asplenium nidus is the result of the coordination of
annals-of-botany
Seasonal variation in selfing rate
Flowering plants display considerable variation in mating system, particularly the relative frequency of cross- and self-fertilization. The majority of estimates of outcrossing rate do not
annals-of-botany
Relationships between root diameter, length and branching of maize
The effect of diameter variation on root elongation, branching and topological connections has not been examined systematically in a population of high-order roots, nor along