Why is pollen in Camellia oleifera inedible to honeybees?

This Commentary examines a recent study that addressed a long-standing controversy: Is the lethal effect of Tea-oil Camellia on honeybee larvae due to nectar or pollen toxicity? Flowers of Camellia oleifera are adapting to bird pollination, evolving 'anti-bee' traits such as theasaponin-containing pollen, which is toxic to bee larvae.

Persistent inner tepals and wings protect developing seeds of from insect herbivory in Central Asian cold deserts.

Although the postdispersal functions of diaspore (fruit and its appendages) have been reported, little is known about their protective/defensive functions. In this context, diaspores with appendages (persistent inner tepals and/or fruit wings) that experienced predispersal herbivory by insects in natural populations of were investigated, and the seed abortion percentage, seed and embryo masses, and germination of seeds from diaspores with different categories of insect herbivory were measured and compared. Predispersal insect herbivory of .

Phylogenetic placement of the monotypic Baolia (Amaranthaceae s.l.) based on morphological and molecular evidence.

Background: Baolia H.W.Kung & G.

Protection against insect predation during fruit development: the role of fleshy fruit wings of three species of in the cold desert of Central Asia.

Introduction: Fruit wings serve various ecological functions, including facilitating wind dispersal, providing physical protection to seeds, and regulating seed germination. While many studies have reported the role of fruit wings in plants, little is known about their protective function during fruit development.

Methods: In this study, winged fruits damaged by insects in natural populations of three species (, and ) were investigated.

Inflated Ovary May Increase the Dispersal Ability of Three Species in the Cold Deserts of Central Asia.

Among the diaspores of angiosperms an inflated ovary (IO) is a novel morphological trait, but no studies have evaluated its effects on dispersal. The primary aim of this study was to determine the effect of the IO on diaspore dispersal in three cold desert species (, , and ). Various morphological features and the mass of fruits and seeds of each species were measured.

Stamen curvature and temporal flower closure assure reproductive success in an early-spring-flowering perennial in the cold desert of Middle Asia.

Floral organ movements that ensure autonomous selfing are likely to occur in species that grow in habitats with pollinator scarcity and/or an unpredictable environment. Stamen curvature and temporal flower closure are two important floral behaviors that can influence plant pollination mode and reproductive success. However, both behaviors are rarely reported within a species, and little is known about how these two movements of floral organs ensure reproductive success in an unpredictable early spring environment with few pollinators.

Flexibility of resource allocation in a hermaphroditic-gynomonoecious herb through deployment of female and male resources in perfect flowers.

Premise Of The Study: It has been hypothesized that two flower types permit flexible allocation of resources to female and male functions, yet empirical evidence for the sex-allocation hypothesis remains scarce in gynomonoecious species. To characterize resource allocation to pistillate and perfect flowers and allocation of perfect flowers between gynomonoecious and hermaphroditic individuals, we examined the flexibility and whether female-biased allocation increases with plant size in the hermaphroditic-gynomonoecious herb .

Methods: Frequency of gynomonoecious individuals, flower production, and plant size were investigated in different populations.

Intermediate complex morphophysiological dormancy in seeds of the cold desert sand dune geophyte Eremurus anisopterus (Xanthorrhoeaceae; Liliaceae s.l.).

Background And Aims: Little is known about morphological (MD) or morphophysiological (MPD) dormancy in cold desert species and in particular those in Liliaceae sensu lato, an important floristic element in the cold deserts of Central Asia with underdeveloped embyos. The primary aim of this study was to determine if seeds of the cold desert liliaceous perennial ephemeral Eremurus anisopterus has MD or MPD, and, if it is MPD, then at what level.

Methods: Embryo growth and germination was monitored in seeds subjected to natural and simulated natural temperature regimes and the effects of after-ripening and GA3 on dormancy break were tested.

Pistillate flowers experience more pollen limitation and less geitonogamy than perfect flowers in a gynomonoecious herb.

Gynomonoecy, a sexual system in which plants have both pistillate (female) flowers and perfect (hermaphroditic) flowers, occurs in at least 15 families, but the differential reproductive strategies of the two flower morphs within one individual remain unclear. Racemes of Eremurus anisopterus (Xanthorrhoeaceae) have basal pistillate and distal perfect flowers. To compare sex allocation and reproductive success between the two flower morphs, we measured floral traits, pollinator preferences, and pollen movement in the field.