Scientists Discover Secret Behind Inflorescence

An international team of scientists has discovered the secret behind inflorescence, the system that governs how plants arrange flowers into branching structures. Using mathematical models and molecular genetics, the team found the secret behind the evolutionary processes that work togethe...

To branch or not to branch

... crops, differ in the number, length, and types of inflorescence branches, ranging from the straight spikes of whea...roduce the kernel-bearing ears. The terminal male inflorescence has long branches at its base and a central spike ... harvesting of seeds. The differences in grass inflorescence architecture have important implications for grain...

Inflorescence in Biological News

Scientists announce top 10 new species, issue SOS

...than 100 individuals found only in a small area of northwestern Madagascar. This plant flowers itself to death, producing a huge, spectacular terminal inflorescence with countless flowers. After fruiting, the palm dies and collapses. Soon after the original publication of the species description, seeds were dissem...

Scientists announce top 10 new species; issue SOS

...than 100 individuals found only in a small area of northwestern Madagascar. This plant flowers itself to death, producing a huge, spectacular terminal inflorescence with countless flowers. After fruiting, the palm dies and collapses. Soon after the original publication of the species description, seeds were dissem...

A big bunch of tomatoes?

... not branch, so flowers are singular; in tomatoes, inflorescence branching is repetitive and regular, forming a zig... vine The tomato mutants anantha (an) and compound inflorescence (s) have long been known to produce large numbers ...wn from three institutions in Israel, investigated inflorescence branching by studying these mutant tomato plants. ...

Researchers find an essential gene for forming ears of corn

... "Our work helped demonstrate that spi1 in maize has evolved a dominant role in auxin biosynthesis, and is essential for what we plant scientists call inflorescence development--the process in seed plants in which a shoot forms that supports the plant's flowers," he added. "When we looked at the interaction b...

How to build a plant

...ify the gene networks and biochemical pathways that determine how the maize inflorescence is built. They have also made use of the genetic information from the alre...sumed after producing a certain number of structures and organs. The maize inflorescence is a good model for studying plant development because it contains both kin...

New genus of self-destructive palm found in Madagascar

...wing to dizzying heights before the stem tip converts into a giant terminal inflorescence and bursts into branches of hundreds of tiny flowers. Each flower is capabl... Herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, the details of the flowers and inflorescence branches immediately suggested it was a new, undescribed species and genus ...

The evolution of food plants: Genetic control of grass flower architecture

...terested in understanding genetic control of grass inflorescence architecture because seeds of cereal grasses (e.g....he ra2 gene plays an important role in controlling inflorescence architecture. A recent publication in The Plant Ce...t ra2 is critical for shaping the initial steps of inflorescence architecture in the grass family, because the ra2 ...

Inflorescence in Biological Dictionary

Inflorescence

An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed... flat-topped or convex inflorescence in which the individual ...

Stem

...tural axes of a vascular plant. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes, the nodes hold buds which grow into one or more leaves, inflorescence (flowers), cones or other stems etc.... Plant stem , the above ground structures that have vascular tissue and that ... Stem (bicycle par...

Capitulum

... the capitulum of the humerus. Information about capitulum in the free online English dictionary and ... The capitulum is the characteristic inflorescence of the composite family ... capitulum n. , pl. -la . Botany. See flower head (sense 1). Biology. A small knob or head-shaped part, such as a...

Bract

... In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves, being smaller or of a different color or texture. bract n. A leaflike or sc...