Handroanthus serratifolius produces flowers during the dry season in the Cerrado biome, and it may be an important food source to some bird species. For Psittacidae species, like Forpus xanthopterygius, flowers are important in their diet. This study intended to characterize the behavior of F.xanthopterygius and evaluate the damage to the flowering and in the reproduction of H. serratifolius. F...

The carbonic anhydrase (CA: Carbonate hydrolyase: E.C.4.2.1.1) content from the leaves and flowers of mature yarrow (Achillea millefolium), a plant believed to possess healing qualities, was purified and characterized. The purification levels were 35.58 fold in the leaves and 40.21 fold in the flowers. The optimum temperatures were 25C and 40C for the leaves and flowers, respectively, and optim...

In senescing carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.) flowers, ethylene is produced from the gynoecium, and acts as a diffusible signal received by petals to induce the expression of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) synthase (DC-ACS1) and ACC oxidase (DC-ACO1) genes in the petals. This results in autocatalytic ethylene production in the petals. We investigated ethylene production in cut flow...

BACKGROUND In many plant species, pollination syndromes predict the most effective pollinator. However, other floral visitors may also offer effective pollination services and promote mixed pollination systems. Several species of the species-rich Penstemon (Plantaginaceae) exhibit a suite of floral traits that suggest adaptation for pollination by both hymenopterans and hummingbirds. Transition...

Australian crab spiders Thomisus spectabilis ambush pollinating insects, such as honeybees (Apis mellifera) on flowers, and can change their body colour between yellow and white. It is traditionally assumed that the spiders change their colour to match the flower colour, thus rendering them cryptic to insect prey. Here, we test this assumption combining state-of-the-art knowledge of bee vision ...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Studies of the effects of pollination on floral scent and bee visitation remain rare, particularly in agricultural crops. To fill this gap, the hypothesis that bee visitation to flowers decreases after pollination through reduced floral volatile emissions in highbush blueberries, Vaccinium corymbosum, was tested. Other sources of variation in floral emissions and the role of...

Nectar of nocturnal flowers may be used by diurnal species that occasionally accomplish secondary pollination. Thirteen bird species visited Caryocar brasiliense flowers in central Brazil. There is a temporal separation between nectarivores and non-nectarivores species. Nectarivores birds visited flowers late in the morning, while other species appear earlier. C. brasiliense nectar may be an al...

Insect-pollinated carnivorous plants are expected to have higher fitness if they resolve pollinator-prey conflicts by sparing insects pollinating their flowers while trapping prey insects. We examined whether separation between flowers and traps of the carnivorous sundew species or pollinator preferences for colours of flowers enable these plants to spare pollinators. In addition, we collected ...

The breeding system and the embryology of Consolea spinosissima, a tree-like opuntioid endemic to Jamaica, were investigated. Morphological and embryological studies revealed that the species is subdioecious, with three sexual morphs present in the 150 × 120 m plot studied at Hellshire Hills, Jamaica. The female morph has pistillate flowers with open stigma lobes, no pollen grains, and sets fru...

Fresh jasmine flowers have been used to make jasmine teas in China, but there has been no complete information about volatile organic compound emissions in relation to flower developmental stages and no science-based knowledge about which floral stage should be used for the infusion. This study monitored volatile organic compounds emitted from living flowers of Jasminum sambac (L.) Ait. 'Bifoli...