Variations of Leaf Cuticular Waxes Among C3 and C4 Gramineae Herbs.

Modern C4 plants are commonly distributed in hot and dry environments whereas C3 plants predominate in cool and shade areas. At the outmost of plant surface, the deposition and chemical composition of cuticular waxes vary under different environmental conditions. However, whether such variation of cuticular wax is related to the distribution of C3 and C4 under different environmental conditions is still not clear.

Compositae Plants Differed in Leaf Cuticular Waxes between High and Low Altitudes.

We sampled eight Compositae species at high altitude (3482 m) and seven species at low altitude (220 m), analyzed the chemical compositions and contents of leaf cuticular wax, and calculated the values of average chain length (ACL), carbon preference index (CPI), dispersion (d), dispersion/weighted mean chain length (d/N), and C31 /(C31  + C29 ) (Norm31). The amounts of total wax and compositions were significantly higher at high altitude than at low altitude, except for primary alcohol, secondary alcohol, and ketone. The main n-alkanes in most samples were C31 , C29 , and C33 .

Cuticular waxes in alpine meadow plants: climate effect inferred from latitude gradient in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

Alpine meadow ecosystems are susceptible to climate changes. Still, climate impact on cuticular wax in alpine meadow plants is poorly understood. Assessing the variations of cuticular wax in alpine meadow plants across different latitudes might be useful for predicting how they may respond to climate change.

Variations of the composition of the leaf cuticular wax among Chinese populations of Plantago major.

Plantago major L. grows in a very wide range of regions in China and exhibits great variations among populations. The analysis of the cuticular-wax composition provides a potential approach to classify populations of P.