BACKGROUND Rheum nobile is an alpine plant with translucent bracts concealing the inflorescence which produce a "glasshouse" effect promoting the development of fertile pollen grains in such conditions. The current understanding of the adaptation of such bracts to alpine environments mainly focuses on the phenotypic and physiological changes while the genetic basis is very limited. By sequencin...

Basic questions regarding the origin and evolution of grass (Poaceae) inflorescence morphology remain unresolved, including the developmental genetic basis for evolution of the highly derived outer spikelet organs. To evaluate homologies between the outer sterile organs of grass spikelets and inflorescence structures of nongrass monocot flowers, we describe expression patterns of APETALA1/FRUIT...

Three prickles about 2 mm. long were embedded in and penetrating the full thickness of the cornea. They were stiff, fine, and like needle-tips; their bases were flush with the corneal epithelium, and the shafts traversed the full corneal thickness with the pointed end protruding I mm. into the anterior chamber. The positions of two of the prickles are visible in Fig. I, the third being hidden u...

The action of protease and hemicellulase for the extraction of fractions enriched in soluble fiber from bracts and stems of Cynara cardunculus was evaluated. Using a two-factor simplex design comprising protease amounts of 0-200 μL and hemicellulase amounts of 0-200 mg for 5 g of material, we explored the effect of a 5 h enzymatic treatment at 40 °C on the chemical composition and yield of the ...

Aqueous extracts of cotton bracts induce a concentration dependent decrease in flow rates on partial expiratory flow volume curves. It has been shown that the active substance(s) is stable to moderate heat and to acid or alkaline conditions. Results of dialysis and gel filtration suggest that the active component(s) has a molecular size of about 1000 daltons. The component(s) is not absorbed on...

The chemical composition of the essential oils obtained from the leaves and bracts of hydroponically cultivated Origanum dictamnus were analyzed by GC-MS techniques. Three different concentrations of phosphorus (5, 30, and 60 mg/L) in the nutrient solution were used for the cultivation, using the nutrient film technique (NFT). A total of 46 different compounds were identified and significant di...

Lawrence et al (4) identified the red pigment in bracts of poinsettia as an anthocyanin. The methods employed served to identify the principal anthocyanidin (cyanidin), but not the sugar moiety. Blank (2), Robinson and Robinson (5, 6, 7), and Scott-'Moncrieff (8) reported that variation in the sugar moiety of the anthocyanin pigment affected color. They found that monoglycosides were redder tha...

Extreme modification and reduction in floral morphology presents an obstacle to determining the evolutionary relationships and homologies of the holoparasites in Balanophoraceae. Developing flowers and inflorescences of two dioecious species, Balanophora papuana and B. elongata, were compared to each other and to the monoecious B. fungosa. Intermingled with flowers in the male inflorescences ar...

The objectives of this experiment were (i) to determine the effect of water supply on the photosynthetic capacity of leaves, bracts, capsule walls, and stalks of cotton at different growth stages and (ii) to determine the contributions of these nonleaf organs to whole plant photosynthesis. Water deficit reduced the total surface area per plant but increased the proportion of nonleaf to total pl...