The evolution of reproductive barriers is of central importance for speciation. Here, we investigated three components of postzygotic isolation-embryo mortality, hybrid inviability, and hybrid sterility-in a group of food-deceptive Mediterranean orchids from the genera Anacamptis, Neotinea, and Orchis. In these orchids, pollinator-mediated isolation is weak, which suggests that postpollination ...

Phylogenetic relationships are hotspots for orchid studies with controversial standpoints. Traditionally, the phylogenies of orchids are based on morphology and subjective factors. Although more reliable than classic phylogenic analyses, the current methods are based on a few gene markers and PCR amplification, which are labor intensive and cannot identify the placement of some species with deg...

Accepted 25 January 2001 Copyright © EEF ISSN 1399-1183 Marked variations in flowering frequency, and irregular patterns of appearance above ground between years, were observed in many perennial herbs, among them various species of terrestrial orchids, such as Dactylorhiza sambucina (L.), Dactylorhiza incarnata (Druce), Orchis mascula (L.) and Listera ovata (L.) R. Brown (Tamm 1956, 1972), Spir...

Vandaceous orchids are a group of orchid genera in the subfamily Vandoideae. Among this group, Mokara, Phalaenopsis, and Vanda are the most popular and commercially important orchids in Thailand. Novel microsatellite markers were developed from Mokara, the intergeneric hybrid from 3 genera Vanda, Ascocentrum, and Arachnis by using enriched method. Six primers from this study plus one primer pre...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Sexually deceptive orchids achieve cross-pollination by mimicking the mating signals of female insects, generally hymenopterans. This pollination mechanism is often highly specific as it is based primarily on the mimicry of mating signals, especially the female sex pheromones of the targeted pollinator. Like many deceptive orchids, the Mediterranean species Ophrys arachnitif...

Harvest of orchid tubers for salep production is widespread in southwestern Asia and the Balkans and constitutes a major conservation risk for wild orchid populations. Synanthropic habitats, such as graveyards, are important refuges for orchids and other organisms and could offer protection from salep harvesting because of their special cultural role. However, little is known about the occurren...

The genus Dickeya contains bacteria causing soft rot of economically important crops and ornamental plants. Here, we report the draft genome sequences of two Dickeya sp. isolates from rotted leaves of Phalaenopsis orchids.

A model of the within-season growth of terrestrial orchids is presented. The model predicts the size of the tubers of Dactylorhiza majalis and Dactylorhiza fuchsii. Therefore, destructive methods can be avoided when sampling these rare orchids. The correlation coefficient and the slope of the relation between two consecutive measurements of leaf area early in the season are good indicators of p...