We present a model for the gradual evolution towards dioecy in cosexual plants with geitonogamous selfing. We show how geitonogamous selfing (i.e., transfer of pollen between flowers on the same plant) can facilitate the evolution of dioecy (i.e., separate male and female individuals) in cosexual plants (i.e., both sexual functions on the same plant). We study the effect of parameters such as i...

Background and Aims Floral nectar can be variable in composition, influencing pollinator behaviour and the composition of honey derived from it. The non-peroxide antibacterial activity of mānuka (Leptospermum scoparium, Myrtaceae) honey results from the chemical conversion of the triose sugar dihydroxyacetone (DHA), after DHA accumulates for an unknown reason in the nectar. This study examined ...

Cases of imperfect or non-model mimicry are common in plants and animals and challenge intuitive assumptions about the nature of directional selection on mimics. Many non-rewarding flower species do not mimic a particular species, but attract pollinators through ‘generalised food deception’. Some predatory animals also attract pollinators by resembling flowers, perhaps the most well known, yet ...

Environmental factors affecting flower development may limit the yields of fruiting crops worldwide. In temperate regions, chilling temperatures during flower development can compromise fruit production, but their negative effects vary depending on the differing susceptibilities of each developmental stage. The cultivated strawberry (Fragaria× ananassa Duch.) is widely grown worldwide but finan...

Francisella tularensis is disseminated in nature by biting arthropods such as mosquitoes. The relationship between mosquitoes and F. tularensis in nature is highly ambiguous, due in part to the fact that mosquitoes have caused significant tularemia outbreaks despite being classified as a mechanical vector of F. tularensis. One possible explanation for mosquitoes being a prominent, yet mechanica...

Flower pollination algorithm (FP) is a new nature-inspired algorithm, based on the characteristics of flowering plants. Combining with the features of flower pollination algorithm, an improved simulated annealing algorithm is proposed in this paper (FPSA). It can improve the speed of annealing. The initial state of simulated annealing and new solutions are generated by flower pollination. There...

Flowers and fruits are often vividly colored. An obvious explanation for fruit and flower pigmentation is that it serves to attract animal mutualists. However, decades of research has produced equivocal support for the hypothesis that animals are the primary selection pressure acting on the color of plant reproductive structures. Exciting new research into geographic variation in flower colors ...

Infestation by blueberry gall midge, Dasineura oxycoccana Johnson, is common in northern highbush blueberries, but its effects on crop productivity are unknown. We examined whether infestation by blueberry gall midge reduces flower bud production when compared with uninfested shoots, and how infestation at different times affects the crop response. From the fall of 2009 to the spring of 2011, t...

Birds are important pollinators, but the evolutionary history of ornithophily (bird pollination) is poorly known. Here, we report a skeleton of the avian taxon Pumiliornis from the middle Eocene of Messel in Germany with preserved stomach contents containing numerous pollen grains of an eudicotyledonous angiosperm. The skeletal morphology of Pumiliornis is in agreement with this bird having bee...

Flower color is one of the most important features of ornamental plants. Its development and regulation are influenced by many internal and external factors. Therefore, understanding the mechanism of color development and its regulation provides an important theoretical basis and premise for the cultivation and improvement of new color varieties of ornamental plants. This paper outlines the fun...