In the dry forest of Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica, the understory shrub Jacquinia nervosa presents an inverse pattern of phenology that concentrates vegetative growth and reproduction during the dry season. In this study, we tested the "escape from herbivory" hypothesis as a potential explanation for the inverse phenological pattern of J. nervosa. We monitored leaf, flower and fruit pro...

Abstract Cassia auriculata is an Ayurvedic medicinal herb, traditionally indicated for diabetes and hyperlipidemia. Several works have demonstrated its antioxidant, antidiabetic anti-hyperlipidemic activity in vivo vitro . Nevertheless, only a few investigated phytochemical composition, specifically, the polyphenolic composition of various plant parts that are used. In this work, C. leaves, flo...

To study the early steps of flower initiation and development in grapevine (Vitis vinifera), we have isolated two MADS-box genes, VFUL-L and VAP1, the putative FUL-like and AP1 grapevine orthologs, and analyzed their expression patterns during vegetative and reproductive development. Both genes are expressed in lateral meristems that, in grapevine, can give rise to either inflorescences or tend...

BACKGROUND Plant-based traditional system of medicine continues to play an important role in healthcare. In order to find new potent source of bioactive molecules, we studied the cytotoxic activity of the essential oils from the flowers and leaves of Callistemon citrinus. This is the first report on anticancer potential of essential oils of C. citrinus. METHODS Cytotoxicity of essential oil w...

The effects of Silver Thiosulphate (STS) and Naphtalene Acetic Acid (NAA) (0,45%NAA+1,2% NAA-amide at 500 mg.l) on flowering bud development, anthesis duration, bract longevity and bract photosynthetic rate were studied in Bougainvillea spectabilis ‘Killie Campbell’ plants, under interior conditions. The relationships between bract longevity and the above parameters were also investigated. NAA ...

Based on the measurements of 1063 flower reflection spectra, we show that flower colours fall into distinct clusters in the colour space of a bee. It is demonstrated that this clustering is caused by a limited variability in the floral spectral reflectance curves. There are as few as 10 distinct types of such curves, five of which constitute 85% of all measurements. UV reflections are less freq...

The transcription factor LEAFY is a master regulator of flowering and of flower development. It acts as a component of a switch that mediates the transition from the vegetative to the reproductive phase of plant development. Auxin is a plant hormone with many different roles in plant growth, including the induction of new primordia of both leaves and flowers at the shoot apex. We report that LE...

Experiments were conducted with containerized ;Tahiti' lime (Citrus latifolia Tan.) trees in order to define conditions needed to induce flowering. Cyclical or continuous water stress for 4 to 5 weeks induced flowering. Moderate (-2.25 megapascals, midday) or severe (-3.5 megapascals, midday) water stress as measured by leaf xylem pressure potential, for as little as 2 weeks induced flowering, ...

Comparative studies help shed light on how the huge diversity in plant forms found in nature has been produced. We use legume species to study developmental differences in inflorescence architecture and flower ontogeny with classical models such as Arabidopsis thaliana or Antirrhinum majus. Whereas genetic control of these processes has been analyzed mostly in pea (Pisum sativum), Medicago trun...

decorative arts have got a special place in iranian architecture traditionally. these types of arts are the symbol of nation's ethnics and indigenous features and also express the artist's feelings of those times. stucco is one type of the decorative arts that has decorated many buildings -especially palaces-that belong to the pre-islamic period and also mosques that built in the isla...