Habitat degradation can reduce or even prevent the reproduction of previously abundant plant species. To develop appropriate management strategies, we need to understand the reasons for reduced recruitment in degraded ecosystems. The dioecious coco de mer palm (Lodoicea maldivica) produces by far the largest seeds of any plant. It is a keystone species in an ancient palm forest that occurs only...

Dispersal is a key process in biological studies of spatial dynamics, but the initiation of dispersal has often been neglected, despite strong indications that differential timing of dispersal can significantly affect dispersal distances. To investigate which plant and environmental factors determine the release of plumed seeds by the invasive thistles Carduus acanthoides and Carduus nutans, we...

Arisaema serratum possesses a pitfall-trap flower pollination system. However, little is known about the efficiency and pattern of pollen movement in A. serratum. Thus, the aims of this study are to (1) determine the paternal parents of the seeds and (2) elucidate pollen movement in a natural population. Paternity analysis using microsatellite markers was performed. Seeds were collected from a ...

Somaclonal variation in plants regenerated by organogenesis from long-term cultured calluses of two diploid staminate genotypes of Asparagus officinalis cv. Argenteuil was characterized by plant phenotype, ploidy, meiotic behavior, pollen viability, fruit and seed set, and AFLP profiles. Phenotypic deviations from the donors were detected in foliage color, flower size, and cladode and flower mo...

abstract for evaluation and identification some of the chamomile species in two genera anthemis and matricaria, morphological and phonological characteristics were used. the experiment was conducted in a randomized completely blocks design (rcbd) with three replicates, sixteen quantitative and qualitative traits were evaluated such as plant height, anthodium diameter, receptacle diameter, ligul...

Various plant organ segments including segments from roots (root tip, and root collar), stems, leaves, and also seeds of several Hyoscyamus species (i.e. H. pusillus, H. arachnoideus, annual and biennial H. niger from two distinct geographical regions) were cultured on MS media with various growth regulator combinations, to assess the ability of flower production. Statistical assessments showed...

Flowers, the reproductive structures of the approximately 400 000 extant species of flowering plants, exist in a tremendous range of forms and sizes, mainly due to developmental differences involving the number, arrangement, size and form of the floral organs of which they consist. However, this tremendous diversity is underpinned by a surprisingly robust basic floral structure in which a centr...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The phenotypic selection of a diverse insect assemblage was studied on a generalist plant species (Paeonia broteroi) in ten flowering seasons, with tests for whether visitor preferences for plants with larger flowers eventually translated into significant differences among plants in visitation rates, seed production, seed mass, seed germination and seedling survival. METHO...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Environmental variability at several scales can determine plant reproductive success. The main goal of this work was to model the reproductive flexibility of a semi-arid specialist considering different scales of environmental variability. METHODS A 2-year field study was performed on the determinants of the female reproductive success of Helianthemum squamatum, an Iberian...

The Present paper reports 36 wild edible angiospermic species from Nasik district of Maharashtra. The district is inhabited by the aborigines viz Bhils, Thakur, Katkari, Warli, Kokani, Kunbi-Kokana a Mahadeo-Koli, apart from other rural populace. The use leaves, tubers rhizoms, bulbils, fruits, seeds, flowers, etc as complementary to their diet or in a times of scarcity during famines.