Palms are vitally important due to their high vegetable oil production, which can occur in both fruits and seeds. The full range of lipid storage and composition, however, hasn’t been well understood across this large...
Dispersal is crucial due to its direct impact on dynamics of a species’ distribution as well as having a role in shaping adaptive potential through gene flow. In plants forming scarce and small populations, knowledge...
Apomixis (asexual seed formation) generates clonal plants with a maternal genotype. Apomictic Hieracium subgenus Pilosella species mitotically form female gametes, with the seed’s embryo and endosperm developing...
Both pathogenic and epiphytic organisms obtain nutrients from host plants. Dhandapani et al. show the differential impact of an epiphytic (avirulent) strain and a pathogenic strain of the cytokinin-producing bacterium...
You can’t just plant a seed and expect it to grow. Chahtane et al. have recently published a review in the Journal of Experimental Botany (JXB) “Primary seed dormancy: a temporally multilayered riddle...
Moringa oleifera, or miracle tree, is known in many parts of the world for its multiple uses as an agroforestry crop. However, seeds of this species lose their viability within 6 to 12 months of harvest, and thus...
A study of Tibetan peony seeds (Paeonia ludlowii) finds that a root length of ≥6 cm is necessary before dormancy can be released by cold stratification.
α -Amylase in grass caryopses (seeds) is usually expressed upon commencement of germination and is rarely seen in dry, mature seeds. However, Goggin and Powles show that selection for low dormancy in Lolium rigidum...
Co-ordination of sugar transport and metabolism between developing seeds and their enclosing fruit tissues is little understood. Liu et al. examine physiological mechanisms using two genotypes of asparagus bean (Vigna...
Cone age and longevity of Banksia seeds Serotiny, where seeds are retained in the canopy for prolonged periods, is common in the genus Banksia and hence seed collections are likely to to comprised of seeds produced in...