Within the Open Science project entitled 'Botanic Garden, factory of molecules', a multidisciplinary study approach was applied to Ballota acetabulosa (L.) Benth., at Ghirardi Botanic Garden (Toscolano Maderno, BS, Italy). Micromorphological and histochemical investigations were performed on secreting structures vegetative reproductive organs under light, fuorescence electronic microscopy. Conc...

In this study, the anatomical features of Ballota pseudodictamnus (L.) Benth. subsp. lycia Hub.-Mor. (Lamiaceae), endemic taxa from Turkey are examined and evaluated by light (LM) scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Different trichome types (glandular -including Lamiaceae type, capitate peltate- non-glandular trichomes) observed. The densest type is dendroid trichomes on aerial part plant. leaf...

Effects of temperature and photoperiod and their interactions on budburst and on the use of carbon reserves were examined in two Mediterranean oaks differing in wood anatomy and leaf habit. Seedlings of Quercus ilex subsp. ballota (evergreen and diffuse-porous wood) and Q. faginea (semi-deciduous and ring-porous wood) were grown under two temperatures (12 and 19 degrees C) and two photoperiods ...

Spanish holm oak (Quercus ilex subsp. ballota) open woodlands (dehesas) maintain a high diversity of plants and animals compared to other forested Mediterranean habits, but little is known about the responses of epiphytic lichens to different management regimes that are applied to this woodland type. The present study was carried out in central-southern Spain and included four management regime...

One of the characteristics of holm-oak acorn production is its high variability among individuals and years. To examine the main causes of this fact, a study was conducted from 1998-2010 in a natural area of holm-oak in southern Spain, where floral phenology, fruit production, fruit size, airborne pollen emission and meteorology factors were analyzed with the ultimate aim of developing a model ...

Aqueous extracts of nine plants, known to have medicinal activity, were tested for their toxicity against the sweet potato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci Genn. (Homoptera: Aleurodidae) compared to the toxicity of the insecticide, Imidacloprid. Extracts of Lepidiuim sativum L. (Brassicales: Brassicaceae) killed 71 % of early stage nymphs, which was not significantly different from mortality caused by ...

The impact of regional and local weather and of local topography on intradiurnal variations in airborne pollen levels was assessed by analysing bi-hourly holm oak (Quercus ilex subsp. ballota (Desf.) Samp.) pollen counts at two sampling stations located 40 km apart, in southwestern Spain (Cordoba city and El Cabril nature reserve) over the period 2010-2011. Pollen grains were captured using Hir...

Global warming can lead to considerable impacts on natural plant communities, potentially inducing changes in plant physiology and the quantity and quality of floral rewards, especially nectar. Changes in nectar production can in turn strongly affect plant-pollinator interaction networks-pollinators may potentially benefit under moderate warming conditions, but suffer as resources reduce in ava...