Weblog of the Annals of Botany

Monthly Archives: April 2011

Big Question: Feast or famine?

By annbot | Published: 30th of April 2011

This video from the The University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment makes a strong case why we’re going to need more plant scientists. Lots more.

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Leaf size and altitude

By Alex | Published: 29th of April 2011

Leaf size is extremely variable among species and the reasons for this are still not fully understood. Milla & Reich analyse how leaf size reduction with increasing altitude is modulated by variation in traits that are functionally related to leaf size, and by phylogenetic relatedness. Using structural equation modelling, they find that trait interactions are more [...]

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Charles Darwin and the Origins of Plant Evolutionary Developmental Biology

By EditorPatHeslopHarrison | Published: 28th of April 2011

I often quote the last paragraph of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species: “It is interesting to contemplate a tangled bank, clothed with many plants of many kinds … and to reflect that these elaborately constructed forms, so different from each other, and dependent upon each other in so complex a manner, have all been produced [...]

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Paying to read or paying for publication: what do you get?

By EditorPatHeslopHarrison | Published: 27th of April 2011

  Why not simply post your manuscript on your own or your Institute’s webserver, at minimal cost, fast and available to all? Following Annals of Botany’s decision to reduce our open access charges to be below those of the major on-line subject OA Journals, I have obviously been looking at the different ways Journals are funded [...]

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A Plant Science Journal – looking for a managing editor

By EditorPatHeslopHarrison | Published: 27th of April 2011

A Plant Science Jounal is looking for a native English speaker to become Managing Editor – a terrific job for the right person involving both day-to-day management of the Journal and implementing strategic initiatives. The journal is published by OUP out of Japan .  The position (as a full or part-time staff member at OUP) would be particularly suitable [...]

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Effects of cotyledon damage on fitness in Medicago

By Alex | Published: 27th of April 2011

Effects of cotyledon damage on fitness in <i>Medicago</i> Damage to cotyledons can have significant effects on subsequent plant growth and reproduction. Studying the annual species Medicago lupulina, Zhang et al. examine the mechanisms linking cotyledon damage and fitness, as measured by growth and reproductive traits. They show how a network of indirect mechanisms links cotyledon damage [...]

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What I did on my day off

By Alun Salt | Published: 26th of April 2011
Chinese Bridge at Biddulph Grange Gardens

I visited Biddulph Grange Garden, a National Trust Property in Staffordshire. As visits go it wasn’t a huge success. The sky was solid cloud that hammered the light flat, meaning there was no real light and shade for photographs. They all came out awful, except this one which merely came out bad. I converted it [...]

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Nuclear DNA amounts in 2221 angiosperm species

By Alex | Published: 25th of April 2011

In the largest ever compilation of angiosperm DNA amounts, C-values for 2221 species from 152 original references (including 1860 species not previously collated), are listed by Bennett and Leitch. These data contain both the smallest and largest genome sizes so far reported for any angiosperm, which vary in C-values by over 2300-fold. Current progress in [...]

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Phylogeographic patterns of Epipactis lineages

By Alex | Published: 24th of April 2011

Phylogeographic patterns of <i>Epipactis</i> lineages Epipactis is a widespread orchid genus encompassing morphologically and genetically problematic aggregates of taxa, such as the E. helleborine species complex and related lineages. Tranchida-Lombardo et al. show that the Italian peninsula acted as a remarkable centre of diversification for this orchid lineage and that recurrent shifts in mating system [...]

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Seed persistence and germination traits

By Alex | Published: 22nd of April 2011

Seed persistence in the soil under field conditions is issue for the maintenance of local plant populations and the restoration of plant communities. Saatkamp et al. compare seed survival in a burial experiment with data on various germination traits for a range of Mediterranean annual plants. Germination rate, light requirement for germination and germination in response [...]

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