the abscission of alstroemeria petals is the serious problem at the industry of cut flowers of this plant. in this study, cut alstroemeria cv. bridal flowers were pulsed with solutions containing natural essential oil carvacrol, gibberellic acid and benzyladenine (50 and 100 mg l-1), -5-sulfosalicylic acid (1 and 1.5 mm) and sucrose (5 and 10%) for 24 hours. the distilled water was used as cont...

The future bloom and risk of blossom frosts for Malus domestica were projected using regional climate realizations and phenological ( = impact) models. As climate impact projections are susceptible to uncertainties of climate and impact models and model concatenation, the significant horizon of the climate impact signal was analyzed by applying 7 impact models, including two new developments, o...

Floral color changes and retention of old flowers are frequently combined phenomena restricted to the floral guide or single flowers in few-flowered inflorescences. They are thought to increase the attractiveness over long distances and to direct nearby pollinators toward the rewarding flowers. In Tibouchina pulchra, a massively flowering tree, the whole flower changes its color during anthesis...

Palystes kreutzmannisp. n. is described from habitats close to Kleinmond, in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. Spiders of this new species live in the typical fynbos vegetation of the Western Cape region. They build retreats between apical leaves of Leucadendron bushes. The systematic position of Palystes kreutzmannisp. n. is discussed. Male and female show characters of different specie...

Artificial light at night (ALAN) has been implicated in the global decline of insect populations. Causal mechanisms contributing to declines remain unclear, however. Here we examine causal factors which could link some declining terrestrial populations with ALAN. To do so, defined closest and furthest halves individual bushes according nearest source artificial light. We sampled leaves inverteb...

The production of seed by both selfing and outcrossing, or mixed mating, may be selected for under conditions of variable pollinator availability. Seed production was examined following experimental manipulations of perfect and pistillate flowers of the gynomonoecious plant Silene noctiflora. Style excision experiments in a greenhouse demonstrated that autonomous selfing occurs in the perfect f...

In this Quick Guide, Johnson introduces the reader to carrion flowers, which evolved to mimic rotting flesh. This adaptation attracts insects that facilitate pollination.

Many insects which gather nectar or pollen exhibit flower constancy, a learned fidelity to a particular species of plant. Recent studies suggest that foraging insects may use a perceptual mechanism akin to a search image to detect flowers, in a manner analogous to the way that predators search for prey. This has emerged as an alternative (but not mutually exclusive) explanation for flower const...

     The essential oils of leaves and flowers of Peucedanum ruthenicum (M. Bieb.) Rochel (Umbelliferae) were prepared by hydrodistillation separately and analyzed by GC and GC-MS, and the composition of both essential oils were compared together. Sixteen and eleven compounds were identified in leaves and flowers essential oils representing 100% and 96.4% of total oils, respectively. Th...