The electronic form of this issue, available as of September 11, 2007, at www.plantphysiol.org, is considered the journal of record. On the Cover: Many plants use self-incompatibility (SI) to reject genetically identical (‘‘self’’) pollen to prevent inbreeding. In Papaver rhoeas (the field poppy), SI triggers a Ca-dependent signaling network in incompatible pollen, involving several targets, in...

The phytochemical investigation of the aerial parts of Papaver pseudocanescens M. Pop. of Mongolian origin resulted in the isolation and structural elucidation of 8 alkaloids of the isoquinoline and promorphinane type. 8,14-Dihydroamurine, 8,14-dihydroflavinantine, and flavinantine are promorphinanes. Alborine, mecambridine, and mecambridine methohydroxide are retroprotoberberines. Amurensinine...

In this paper, we model the economic incentives surrounding opium crop production at farm level in Afghanistan. Specifically, we examine the impact of eradication policies when opium is used as a means of obtaining credit, and when the crops are produced in sharecropping arrangements. The theoretical analysis suggests that when perfect credit markets are available, an increased risk of having t...

Human migrations across geographic boundaries can facilitate the introduction of new husbandry practices and dispersal of plants and animals, resulting in changes in biodiversity. As previously demonstrated, the 12th century BCE Philistine migration-to the southern Levantine littoral, involved the transportation of pigs from Europe, engendering long term genetic displacement of local Near Easte...

Tasmania is the world’s largest producer of opium alkaloids for the pharmaceutical market. The area sown to poppies is close to 20,000 ha, and the industry is one of the larger employers in the State. The application of science and technology has been critical to the development of the poppy industry. High yielding varieties and efficient production methods allow the Tasmanian industry to compe...

Over the course of human history, it has been common to use plants for medicinal purposes, such as for providing relief from particular maladies and self-medication. Opium represents one longstanding remedy that has been used to address a range of medical conditions, alleviating discomfort often in ways that have proven pleasurable. Opium is a combination of compounds obtained from the mature f...