Experimental Induction of Extreme Indented Growth Rings (Hazel Wood) in Miller by Wide and Long Parallel Bark and Vascular Cambium Woundings.

Indented growth rings were found long ago to be experimentally induced in Miller by thin parallel axial scratching of the bark up to the vascular cambium with a sharp blade. Here, we show that when the bark and vascular cambium of . are wounded by wide and long parallel axial wounds ("windows") rather than by thin scratches, the induced indented growth rings become dramatically more indented.

Characterization of the fiber-like cortical cells in moss gametophytes.

Fiber-like cells with thickened cell walls of specific structure and polymer composition that includes (1 → 4)-β-galactans develop in the outer stem cortex of several moss species gametophytes. The early land plants evolved several specialized cell types and tissues that did not exist in their aquatic ancestors. Of these, water-conducting elements and reproductive organs have received most of the research attention.

Visual-, Olfactory-, and Nectar-Taste-Based Flower Aposematism.

Florivory, i.e., flower herbivory, of various types is common and can strongly reduce plant fitness.

Multifunctionality of angiosperm floral bracts: a review.

Floral bracts (bracteoles, cataphylls) are leaf-like organs that subtend flowers or inflorescences but are of non-floral origin; they occur in a wide diversity of species, representing multiple independent origins, and exhibit great variation in form and function. Although much attention has been paid to bracts over the past 150 years, our understanding of their adaptive significance remains remarkably incomplete. This is because most studies of bract function and evolution focus on only one or a few selective factors.

Priorities for Bark Anatomical Research: Study Venues and Open Questions.

The bark fulfils several essential functions in vascular plants and yields a wealth of raw materials, but the understanding of bark structure and function strongly lags behind our knowledge with respect to other plant tissues. The recent technological advances in sampling and preparation of barks for anatomical studies, along with the establishment of an agreed bark terminology, paved the way for more bark anatomical research. Whilst datasets reveal bark's taxonomic and functional diversity in various ecosystems, a better understanding of the bark can advance the understanding of plants' physiological and environmental challenges and solutions.

Patterns and drivers of heat production in the plant genus Amorphophallus.

Thermogenesis - the ability to generate metabolic heat - is much more common in animals than in plants, but it has been documented in several plant families, most prominently the Araceae. Metabolic heat is produced in floral organs during the flowering time (anthesis), with the hypothesised primary functions being to increase scent volatilisation for pollinator attraction, and/or to provide a heat reward for invertebrate pollinators. Despite in-depth studies on the thermogenesis of single species, no attempts have yet been made to examine plant thermogenesis across an entire clade.

The phenomenon of red and yellow autumn leaves: Hypotheses, agreements and disagreements.

Yellow and red autumn leaves are typical of many temperate/boreal woody plants. Since the 19 century, it has been either considered the non-functional outcome of chlorophyll degradation that unmasks the pre-existing yellow and red pigments or that the de novo synthesis of red anthocyanins in autumn leaves indicated that it should have a physiological function, although it was commonly ignored. Defending free amino acids and various other resources released especially following the breakdown of the photosynthetic system, and mobilizing them for storage in other organs before leaf fall, is the cornerstone of both the physiological and anti-herbivory hypotheses about the functions of yellow and red autumn leaf colouration.

Odor polymorphism in deceptive species - a review.

Some plant lineages, such as Araceae and Orchidaceae, have independently evolved deceptive flowers. These exploit the insect's perception and deceive the insects into believing to have located a suitable opportunity for reproduction. The scent compounds emitted by the flowers are the key signals that dupe the insects, guiding them to the right spots that in turn ensure flower pollination.

Higher Elevations Tend to Have Higher Proportion of Plant Species With Glandular Trichomes.

Glandular trichomes are well known to participate in plant chemical and physical defenses against herbivores, especially herbivorous insects. However, little is known about large-scale geographical patterns in glandular trichome occurrence. Herbivory pressure is thought to be higher at low elevations because of warmer and more stable climates.

Early production of table olives at a mid-7th millennium BP submerged site off the Carmel coast (Israel).

We present here the earliest evidence for large-scale table olive production from the mid-7 millennium BP inundated site of Hishuley Carmel on the northern Mediterranean coast of Israel. Olive pit size and fragmentation patterns, pollen as well as the architecture of installations associated with pits from this site, were compared to finds from the nearby and slightly earlier submerged Kfar Samir site. Results indicate that at Kfar Samir olive oil was extracted, while at Hishuley Carmel the data showed that large quantities of table olives, the oldest reported to date, were prepared.

Limited divergent adaptation despite a substantial environmental cline in wild pea.

Isolation by environment (IBE) is a widespread phenomenon in nature. It is commonly expected that the degree of difference among environments is proportional to the level of divergence between populations in their respective environments. It is therefore assumed that a species' genetic diversity displays a pattern of IBE in the presence of a strong environmental cline if gene flow does not mitigate isolation.

The Living Fossil Has Cortical Fibers With Mannan-Based Cell Wall Matrix.

Cell wall thickening and development of secondary cell walls was a major step in plant terrestrialization that provided the mechanical support, effective functioning of water-conducting elements and fortification of the surface tissues. Despite its importance, the diversity, emergence and evolution of secondary cell walls in early land plants have been characterized quite poorly. Secondary cell walls can be present in different cell types with fibers being among the major ones.

Spinescent patterns in the flora of Jiaozi Snow Mountain, Southwestern China.

Spinescence has been thought to have evolved mainly as a defense against herbivores. Thus, studying its evolution in a whole flora is an excellent approach for understanding long-term plant-herbivore interactions. In this study, we characterized the spinescent plant species of Jiaozi Snow Mountain, Southwestern China, in order to explore the effects of life forms, plant organs, phylogenetic position, and phytogeographical origin on spinescence occurrence.

Pollinator Behavior Drives Sexual Specializations in the Hermaphrodite Flowers of a Heterodichogamous Tree.

Dioecy, the specialization of individuals into either male-only or female-only sexual function, has multiple evolutionary origins in plants. One proposed ancestral mating system is heterodichogamy, two morphs of cross-fertilizing hermaphrodite flowers that differ in their timing of flowering. Previous research suggested that small specializations in these morphs' functional genders could facilitate their evolution into separate sexes.

Thermal Benefits From White Variegation of Leaves.

Leaves of the spiny winter annual express white patches (variegation) that can cover significant surface areas, the outcome of air spaces formed between the epidermis and the green chlorenchyma. We asked: (1) what characterizes the white patches in and what differs them from green patches? (2) Do white patches differ from green patches in photosynthetic efficiency under lower temperatures? We predicted that the air spaces in white patches have physiological benefits, elevating photosynthetic rates under low temperatures. To test our hypotheses we used both a variegated wild type and entirely green mutants.

Extended phenotype in action. Two possible roles for silica needles in plants: not just injuring herbivores but also inserting pathogens into their tissues.

Phytoliths are silica bodies of various shapes including in the shape of sharp needles formed by many land plants. Defense from herbivory is one of the several known functions of phytoliths, especially the mechanical defense by abrasion of the mouthparts of arthropods and the teeth of mammalian herbivores. Another, although somewhat lesser-known, anti-herbivory defensive mechanism of phytoliths is wounding by sharp silica needles.

Müllerian and Batesian mimicry out, Darwinian and Wallacian mimicry in, for rewarding/rewardless flowers.

Müllerian and Batesian mimicry were originally defined in defensive (anti-predetory) animal systems. Later these terms were adopted by botanists studying pollination that defined rewarding flowers as Müllerian mimics and rewardless flowers as Batesian mimics. The use of these terms concerning pollination predated our recent understanding of how common plant aposematism is and the related defensive Müllerian and Batesian mimicry types.

The plant component of an Acheulian diet at Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Israel.

Diet is central for understanding hominin evolution, adaptation, and environmental exploitation, but Paleolithic plant remains are scarce. A unique macrobotanical assemblage of 55 food plant taxa from the Acheulian site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Israel includes seeds, fruits, nuts, vegetables, and plants producing underground storage organs. The food plant remains were part of a diet that also included aquatic and terrestrial fauna.

Does the whistling thorn acacia (Acacia drepanolobium) use auditory aposematism to deter mammalian herbivores?

Auditory signaling including aposematism characterizes many terrestrial animals. Auditory aposematism by which certain animals use auditory aposematic signals to fend off enemies is well known for instance in rattlesnakes. Auditory signaling by plants toward animals and other plants is an emerging area of plant biology that still suffers from limited amount of solid data.

Plants are not sitting ducks waiting for herbivores to eat them.

There is a common attitude toward plants, accordingly, plants are waiting around to be found and eaten by herbivores. This common approach toward plants is a great underestimation of the huge and variable arsenal of defensive plant strategies. Plants do everything evolution has allowed them to do in order not to be eaten.

Gloger's rule in plants: The species and ecosystem levels.

Gloger's rule posits that darker birds are found more often in humid environments than in arid ones, especially in the tropics. Accordingly, desert-inhabiting animals tend to be light-colored. This rule is also true for certain mammalian groups, including humans.

Partly transparent young legume pods: Do they mimic caterpillars for defense and simultaneously enable better photosynthesis?

Being partly or fully transparent as a defense from predation is mostly known in various groups of aquatic animals and various terrestrial arthropods. Plants, being photosynthetic and having cell walls made of various polymers, cannot be wholly transparent. In spite of these inherent limitations, some succulent plant species of arid zones have partially transparent "windows" in order to perform photosynthesis in their below-ground leaves, as defense from herbivores as well as for protection from harsh environmental conditions.

Intrusive growth of primary and secondary phloem fibres in hemp stem determines fibre-bundle formation and structure.

Plant fibres-cells with important mechanical functions and a widely used raw material-are usually identified in microscopic sections only after reaching a significant length or after developing a thickened cell wall. We characterized the early developmental stages of hemp (Cannabis sativa) stem phloem fibres, both primary (originating from the procambium) and secondary (originating in the cambium), when they still had only a primary cell wall. We gave a major emphasis to the role of intrusive elongation, the specific type of plant cell growth by which fibres commonly attain large cell length.

Plant development: cell movement relative to each other is both common and very important.

The common view that "plant cells cannot move relative to each other" is incorrect. Relative movement of plant cells relative to each other is expressed during fiber elongation, growth of arms of branched sclereids, intrusive growth of the tips of fusiform initials in the cambium, the increase in diameter of vessel members, growth in length of vessel-member elements in the secondary xylem of the few monocotyledons that express secondary growth, growth of laticifers, formation of tylosis, dilatation in the bark via parenchyma cell expansion, and growth of pollen tubes in the style. In all these cases, part of the plant cell remains in its original position, while other parts of the cell grow to the new locations, moving significantly relative to other cells.