Category: Plant Development
How Pruning Works – More New Evidence Regarding the Curious Case of Apical Dominance
Slurping Sugars The main reason for pruning plants is to stimulate the growth of axillary buds, a.k.a., lateral buds. (Please see previous post.) But why is the growth of axillary buds stimulated by cutting off the terminal (or apical) bud? The most common explanation of this is the long-known, and…
How Does The Daffodil Make Its Trumpet-Shaped Flower? (And Why?) – Updated
Where Does The Daffodil Flower’s “Trumpet” Come From? An answer to this question can be found in a 2013 report published in The Plant Journal (please see Ref. 1 below). The full text of this article is now available online (thanks to the Wiley Online Library), and I’ve read it…
Letting Go Is Never Easy – Abscission (Part 2)
The disclaimer: This is not meant to be an exhaustive review of the recent literature regarding abscission in plants. Instead, think of this as a selection of “recent highlights” (my opinion) in the study of abscission. Let’s focus on three steps of abscission: (1) the development of the abscission zone…
The Daffodil: How Does It Make Its Trumpet-Shaped Flower? (And Why?) – Redux
“Walking” Palms, Climbing Vines, and “Plantas Nómadas” – Some Plants Are Not “Sessile”
Plants on Stilts Because plants are “rooted” to the place where they germinate, they don’t move. Indeed, it’s become almost a cliche to describe plants as displaying a “sessile life-style”, especially when contrasting them to animals. But are all plants necessarily sessile organisms, never moving from the spot where they…
Breaking Blue: New Clues About How Light Shapes Plants
Seeking The Light Being light-powered lifeforms, most green plants seek out the sunlight and avoid the shade. But being sessile organisms, plants can not uproot themselves and mosey from the shade into the sun. Because they are stuck in the same spot all of their lives, plants have apparently evolved…
Can Plants Do Math?
Plants in Space
The Ups and Downs of Plant Growth What environmental factors have the most important effects on plant development? When I posed this question to students in class (back in the day when I was boring college undergraduates), it typically took quite a while before someone finally said “Gravity!”. (I usually…
The “Fertilization Dance” in Flowering Plants is Similar to Animals….Except for Who Leads
The Sperm & Egg Tango In a paper published in the 23 November 2012 issue of Science magazine (Ref 1 below), Dr. Stephanie Sprunck and Prof. Dr. Thomas Dresselhaus and colleagues report a major finding regarding the cellular nature of sexual reproduction in plants. Specifically, they have been studying gamete…
How Pruning Works – More New Evidence Regarding the Curious Case of Apical Dominance

Slurping Sugars The main reason for pruning plants is to stimulate the growth of axillary buds, a.k.a., lateral buds. (Please see previous post.) But why is the growth of axillary buds stimulated by cutting off the terminal (or apical) bud? The most common explanation of this is the long-known, and…
How Does The Daffodil Make Its Trumpet-Shaped Flower? (And Why?) – Updated
Where Does The Daffodil Flower’s “Trumpet” Come From? An answer to this question can be found in a 2013 report published in The Plant Journal (please see Ref. 1 below). The full text of this article is now available online (thanks to the Wiley Online Library), and I’ve read it…
Letting Go Is Never Easy – Abscission (Part 2)

The disclaimer: This is not meant to be an exhaustive review of the recent literature regarding abscission in plants. Instead, think of this as a selection of “recent highlights” (my opinion) in the study of abscission. Let’s focus on three steps of abscission: (1) the development of the abscission zone…
The Daffodil: How Does It Make Its Trumpet-Shaped Flower? (And Why?) – Redux
“Walking” Palms, Climbing Vines, and “Plantas Nómadas” – Some Plants Are Not “Sessile”

Plants on Stilts Because plants are “rooted” to the place where they germinate, they don’t move. Indeed, it’s become almost a cliche to describe plants as displaying a “sessile life-style”, especially when contrasting them to animals. But are all plants necessarily sessile organisms, never moving from the spot where they…
Breaking Blue: New Clues About How Light Shapes Plants

Seeking The Light Being light-powered lifeforms, most green plants seek out the sunlight and avoid the shade. But being sessile organisms, plants can not uproot themselves and mosey from the shade into the sun. Because they are stuck in the same spot all of their lives, plants have apparently evolved…
Can Plants Do Math?
Plants in Space

The Ups and Downs of Plant Growth What environmental factors have the most important effects on plant development? When I posed this question to students in class (back in the day when I was boring college undergraduates), it typically took quite a while before someone finally said “Gravity!”. (I usually…
The “Fertilization Dance” in Flowering Plants is Similar to Animals….Except for Who Leads

The Sperm & Egg Tango In a paper published in the 23 November 2012 issue of Science magazine (Ref 1 below), Dr. Stephanie Sprunck and Prof. Dr. Thomas Dresselhaus and colleagues report a major finding regarding the cellular nature of sexual reproduction in plants. Specifically, they have been studying gamete…