Month: September 2022

VAST STRUCTURAL DIVERSITY. "Flowers, the reproductive organs of angiosperms, are more varied than the equivalent structures of any other group of organisms. Because of this variation, interest in plant sexual diversity has a long and venerable history in biology. However, despite this attention, it is still not obvious why flowering plants have evolved such extraordinarily diverse means to achieve only one primary function — mating success." https://lnkd.in/eSndawa View in LinkedIn

"FLOWERS EVOLVED FOR SEX. We associate animals like bees, bats, and birds with flowers today but most of these lineages came much later in the game. Exactly what was around pollinating early flowers remains a bit of a mystery as well. Were the earliest flowers wind pollinated or was there some insect or even reptile that served the selection pressure necessary for their evolution? Only time and more fossil discoveries will tell." https://lnkd.in/euP3eDr View in LinkedIn

PURELY REPRODUCTIVE. "Flower opening and closure are traits of a reproductive syndrome, as it allows pollen removal and/or pollination. Various types of opening can be distinguished such as nocturnal and diurnal and single or repetitive." https://lnkd.in/eTgsM7f View in LinkedIn

FLOWER opening and closing video. These captivating videos do not distinguish between diurnal repetitive flower openings and first time bud openings, and they are different. https://vimeo.com/56810854 View in LinkedIn

RED PASSIONFLOWER opening and closing. A study of precision and elegance. A must-see. https://lnkd.in/egZD_Eh View in LinkedIn

EVERYDAY MYSTERY. "It is not clear, from an ecological and evolutionary point of view, why some flowers last as long as they do, nor is it obvious why they open and close as they do. Opening and closure show a wide range of strategies. Presumably, these strategies have been selected to optimize reproductive success at a minimal (metabolic) cost." http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/content/54/389/1801.full View in LinkedIn

SET APART. "The co‐ordination of processes culminating in synchronized flower opening is, in many species, highly intricate. The complex control by endogenous and exogenous factors sets flower opening and closure apart from most other growth processes." http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/content/54/389/1801.full View in LinkedIn

NYCTINASTY. "Tropisms are plant movements induced by directional stimuli, such as light or gravity. In addition, plants can move in response to nondirectional factors, such as humidity or contact. These movements are called nastic responses. Nyctinasty, the proper name for the “sleep movements of leaves” is a well-known example of a nastic response. In this case, plants close up their leaves and petals in response to the onset of darkness. Because it is a rather fast response, it does not involve differential growth but changes in cellular turgor." https://lnkd.in/eE__XBs View in LinkedIn

RESPONSIVENESS. "Plants respond to light, gravity, touch, and other environmental signals by both temporary and permanent differential growth. Certain plant species respond to light, dark, and other environmental factors by leaf movement. Leguminous plants both track and avoid the sun through turgor changes of the pulvinus tissue at the base of leaves. Mechanisms leading to pulvinar turgor flux." https://lnkd.in/e9s_fPH View in LinkedIn

SWIFT AND COMPLEX. "Flower opening is often rapid. In Oenothera biennis, for example, full opening takes less than 20 min and in Hedera helix it occurs in about 5 min. Flower opening is therefore interesting from a physiological point of view as, in many species, it is accompanied by a high rate of cell expansion, rather impressive movements, and complex regulation by external and internal factors." https://lnkd.in/eTEzGE9 View in LinkedIn