Developmental origins of the world's largest flowers, Rafflesiaceae.

Rafflesiaceae, which produce the world's largest flowers, have captivated the attention of biologists for nearly two centuries. Despite their fame, however, the developmental nature of the floral organs in these giants has remained a mystery. Most members of the family have a large floral chamber defined by a diaphragm.

Endophytic fungi from Pecteilis susannae (L.) Rafin (Orchidaceae), a threatened terrestrial orchid in Thailand.

Eight endophytic fungi were isolated from roots of the threatened terrestrial orchid, Pecteilis susannae (L.) Rafin. Phylogenetic analysis based on an alignment of internal transcribed spacer regions of nuclear rDNA indicated that seven isolates belonged to the genus Epulorhiza and one to Fusarium.

Two mycoheterotrophic orchids from Thailand tropical dipterocarpacean forests associate with a broad diversity of ectomycorrhizal fungi.

Background: Mycoheterotrophic plants are considered to associate very specifically with fungi. Mycoheterotrophic orchids are mostly associated with ectomycorrhizal fungi in temperate regions, or with saprobes or parasites in tropical regions. Although most mycoheterotrophic orchids occur in the tropics, few studies have been devoted to them, and the main conclusions about their specificity have hitherto been drawn from their association with ectomycorrhizal fungi in temperate regions.