Displaying publications 21 - 40 of 180 in total

Abstract:
Sort:
  1. Phebe, D., Chew, M.K., Suraini, A.A., Lai, O.M., Janna, O.A.
    MyJurnal
    Red-fleshed pitaya fruit is a potential fruit for betacyanins extraction. However, there is lack of report on profiles and total contents of betacyanins in the peel and flesh. The objectives of this study were to determine colour, total betacyanins content and its separation in the peel and flesh of red-fleshed pitaya fruit harvested at 25, 30 and 35 days after flower anthesis (DAA) and to examine the usefulness of tristimulus colour measurement as predictors of pigment content in red-fleshed pitaya fruits. There were significant relationships between DAA and colour (L*, C* and h° values), and total betacyanins contents of peel and flesh of red-fleshed pitaya fruit. A total of three types betacyanins were separated from peel and flesh of pitaya fruit at 30 and 35 DAA while for 25 DAA, only one type of betacyanins was separated. The total concentration of betacyanins in the fruit peel of 25, 30 and 35 DAA was 0.24, 3.99 and 8.72 mg/mL, respectively. The fruit flesh contains 2.40, 7.93 and 11.70 mg/mL betacyanins at 25, 30 and 35 DAA, respectively, which was higher than peel. The tristimulus measurements can be adequately used to estimate the total betacyanins content of peel and flesh of red-fleshed pitaya fruit instead of tedious pigment extraction methods.
    Matched MeSH terms: Flowers
  2. Ng YF, Ain N, Lau KH
    Zootaxa, 2019 Nov 11;4695(4):zootaxa.4695.4.9.
    PMID: 31719347 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4695.4.9
    Tenothrips keruing sp. n. is described from Malaysia. This new species was taken from the flowers of Dipterocarpus sublamellatus (local name Keruing kerut) during the recent mass-flowering. The male of this species has a pair of stout setae on abdominal tergite IX, and there are no sternal pore plates. A key to species of Tenothrips from Indomalaysia is provided.
    Matched MeSH terms: Flowers
  3. Rácz IA, Szanyi S, Nagy A
    Biol Futur, 2023 Dec;74(4):393-400.
    PMID: 38349457 DOI: 10.1007/s42977-024-00203-9
    The importance of pollination and pollinators is easy to underestimate and impossible to overstate, since its importance goes far beyond the crop production and even the maintenance of plant populations. Most terrestrial ecosystems ultimately depend on the plant-pollinator interactions formed by million years coevolution. This is essential for both the daily functioning of the ecosystems and the long-term development of biodiversity. At the same time, the loss of biodiversity caused by climate change and human activities will soon lead to an ecological crisis, a catastrophe, which could endanger our life: For example, through the decline and loss of various ecosystem services. Such may be the pollination crisis, resulted from a significant loss of pollinating insects' diversity and abundance. The discovery of a pollinator Orthoptera species has encouraged researchers in the densely populated region of Indo-Malaysia to explore the potential role of orthopterans as pollinators. Although the flower visitation of some species has been already known, the role of orthopterans in pollination is scarcely revealed. Here, we collected and reviewed the available data in order to point out some factors of their importance and set priorities that may serve as a basis for further investigations regarding ecological, evolutionary and practical points of view.
    Matched MeSH terms: Flowers
  4. Yeang HY
    J Exp Bot, 2013 Jul;64(10):2643-52.
    PMID: 23645867 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/ert130
    In photoperiodic flowering, long-day (LD) plants are induced to flower seasonally when the daylight hours are long, whereas flowering in short-day (SD) plants is promoted under short photoperiods. According to the widely accepted external coincidence model, flowering occurs in LD Arabidopsis when the circadian rhythm of the gene CONSTANS (CO) peaks in the afternoon, when it is light during long days but dark when the days are short. Nevertheless, extending this explanation to SD flowering in rice, Oriza sativa, requires LD and SD plants to have 'opposite light requirements' as the CO orthologue in rice, HEADING-DATE1 (Hd1), promotes flowering only under short photoperiods. This report proposes a role of the plant's solar rhythm in promoting seasonal flowering. The interaction between rhythmic genes entrained to the solar clock and those entrained to the circadian clock form the basis of an internal coincidence model that explains both LD and SD flowering equally well. The model invokes no presumption of opposite light requirements between LD and SD plants, and further argues against any specific requirement of either light or darkness for SD flowering. Internal coincidence predicts the inhibition of SD flowering of the rice plant by a night break (a brief interruption of light), while it also provides a plausible explanation for how a judiciously timed night break promotes Arabidopsis flowering even on short days. It is the timing of the light transitions (sunrise and sunset) rather than the duration of light or darkness per se that regulates photoperiod-controlled flowering.
    Matched MeSH terms: Flowers/genetics; Flowers/growth & development*; Flowers/metabolism; Flowers/radiation effects
  5. Rengasamy N, Othman RY, Che HS, Harikrishna JA
    J Sci Food Agric, 2022 Jan 15;102(1):299-311.
    PMID: 34091912 DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.11359
    BACKGROUND: Stevia rebaudiana is a high value crop due to the strong commercial demand for its metabolites (steviol glycosides) but has limited geographical cultivation range. In non-native environments with different daylength and light quality, Stevia has low germination rates and early flowering resulting in lower biomass and poor yield of the desired metabolites. In this study, artificial lighting with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) was used to determine if different light quality within and outside of the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) range can be used to improve germination rates and yields for production of steviol glycosides for the herbal supplement and food industry.

    RESULTS: Plants treated with red and blue light at an intensity of 130 μmol m-2  s-1 supplemented with 5% of UV-A light under a 16-h photoperiod produced the most desirable overall results with a high rate of germination, low percentage of early flowering, and high yields of dry leaf, stevioside and rebaudioside A, 175 days after planting.

    CONCLUSION: While red and blue light combinations are effective for plant growth, the use of supplemental non-PAR irradiation of UV-A wavelength significantly and desirably delayed flowering, enhanced germination, biomass, rebaudioside A and stevioside yields, while supplemental green light improved yield of biomass and rebaudioside A, but not stevioside. Overall, the combination of red, blue and UV-A light resulted in the best overall productivity for Stevia rebaudiana. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

    Matched MeSH terms: Flowers/drug effects; Flowers/growth & development*; Flowers/metabolism; Flowers/chemistry
  6. Taweesak V, Lee Abdullah T, Hassan SA, Kamarulzaman NH, Wan Yusoff WA
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2014;2014:254867.
    PMID: 25478586 DOI: 10.1155/2014/254867
    Influences of irrigation frequency on the growth and flowering of chrysanthemum grown under restricted root volume were tested. Chrysanthemum cuttings (Chrysanthemum morifolium "Reagan White") were grown in seedling tray which contained coconut peat in volumes of 73 and 140 cm(3). Plants were irrigated with drip irrigation at irrigation frequencies of 4 (266 mL), 6 (400 mL), and 8 (533 mL) times/day to observe their growth and flowering performances. There was interaction between irrigation frequency and substrate volume on plant height of chrysanthemum. Plants grown in 140 cm(3) substrates and irrigated 6 times/day produced the tallest plant of 109.25 cm. Plants irrigated 6 and 8 times/day had significantly higher level of phosphorus content in their leaves than those plants irrigated 4 times/day. The total leaf area, number of internodes, leaf length, and leaf width of chrysanthemums grown in 140 cm(3) substrate were significantly higher than those grown in 73 cm(3) substrate. The numbers of flowers were affected by both irrigation frequencies and substrate volumes. Chrysanthemums irrigated 8 times/day had an average of 19.56 flowers while those irrigated 4 times/day had an average of 16.63 flowers. Increasing irrigation frequency can improve the growth and flowering of chrysanthemums in small substrate volumes.
    Matched MeSH terms: Flowers/growth & development*
  7. Ng CY, Wickneswari R, Choong CY
    Genet. Mol. Res., 2014;13(3):6037-49.
    PMID: 25117361 DOI: 10.4238/2014.August.7.18
    Calamus palustris Griff. is an economically important dioecious rattan species in Southeast Asia. However, dioecy and onset of flowering at 3-4 years old render uncertainties in desired female:male seedling ratios to establish a productive seed orchard for this rattan species. We constructed a subtractive library for male floral tissue to understand the genetic mechanism for gender determination in C. palustris. The subtractive library produced 1536 clones with 1419 clones of high quality. Reverse Northern screening showed 313 clones with differential expression, and sequence analyses clustered them into 205 unigenes, including 32 contigs and 173 singletons. The subtractive library was further validated with reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis. Homology identification classified the unigenes into 12 putative functional proteins with 83% unigenes showing significant match to proteins in databases. Functional annotations of these unigenes revealed genes involved in male flower development, including MADS-box genes, pollen-related genes, phytohormones for flower development, and male flower organ development. Our results showed that the male floral genes may play a vital role in sex determination in C. palustris. The identified genes can be exploited to understand the molecular basis of sex determination in C. palustris.
    Matched MeSH terms: Flowers/genetics*
  8. Moniruzzaman M, Chowdhury MA, Rahman MA, Sulaiman SA, Gan SH
    Biomed Res Int, 2014;2014:359890.
    PMID: 24982869 DOI: 10.1155/2014/359890
    The present study was undertaken to determine the content of six minerals, five trace elements, and ten pesticide residues in honeys originating from different regions of Malaysia. Calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), and zinc (Zn) were analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS), while sodium (Na) and potassium (K) were analyzed by flame emission spectrometry (FAES). Trace elements such as arsenic (As), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), and cobalt (Co) were analyzed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) following the microwave digestion of honey. High mineral contents were observed in the investigated honeys with K, Na, Ca, and Fe being the most abundant elements (mean concentrations of 1349.34, 236.80, 183.67, and 162.31 mg/kg, resp.). The concentrations of the trace elements were within the recommended limits, indicating that the honeys were of good quality. Principal component analysis reveals good discrimination between the different honey samples. The pesticide analysis for the presence of organophosphorus and carbamates was performed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). No pesticide residues were detected in any of the investigated honey samples, indicating that the honeys were pure. Our study reveals that Malaysian honeys are rich sources of minerals with trace elements present within permissible limits and that they are free from pesticide contamination.
    Matched MeSH terms: Flowers/chemistry
  9. Rahman MM, Ahmad SH, Lgu KS
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2012;2012:102805.
    PMID: 22619568 DOI: 10.1100/2012/102805
    The effect of leaf extracts of Psidium guajava and Piper betle on prolonging vase life of cut carnation flowers was studied. "Carola" and "Pallas Orange" carnation flowers, at bud stage, were pulsed 24 hours with a floral preservative. Then, flowers were placed in a vase solution containing sprite and a "germicide" (leaf extracts of P. guajava and P. betle, 8-HQC, or a copper coin). Flowers treated with 8-HQC, copper coin, and leaf extracts had longer vase life, larger flower diameter, and higher rate of water uptake compared to control (tap water). The leaf extracts of P. guajava and P. betle showed highest antibacterial and antifungal activities compared to the other treatments. Both showed similar effects on flower quality as the synthetic germicide, 8-HQC. Therefore, these extracts are likely natural germicides to prolong vase life of cut flowers.
    Matched MeSH terms: Flowers*
  10. Yeang HY
    Bioessays, 2009 Nov;31(11):1211-8.
    PMID: 19795408 DOI: 10.1002/bies.200900078
    The plant maintains a 24-h circadian cycle that controls the sequential activation of many physiological and developmental functions. There is empirical evidence suggesting that two types of circadian rhythms exist. Some plant rhythms appear to be set by the light transition at dawn, and are calibrated to circadian (zeitgeber) time, which is measured from sunrise. Other rhythms are set by both dawn and dusk, and are calibrated to solar time that is measured from mid-day. Rhythms on circadian timing shift seasonally in tandem with the timing of dawn that occurs earlier in summer and later in winter. On the other hand, rhythms set to solar time are maintained independently of the season, the timing of noon being constant year-round. Various rhythms that run in-phase and out-of-phase with one another seasonally may provide a means to time and induce seasonal events such as flowering.
    Matched MeSH terms: Flowers*
  11. Tani N, Tsumura Y, Kado T, Taguchi Y, Lee SL, Muhammad N, et al.
    Ann Bot, 2009 Dec;104(7):1421-34.
    PMID: 19808773 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcp252
    BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Knowledge of pollen dispersal patterns and variation of fecundity is essential to understanding plant evolutionary processes and to formulating strategies to conserve forest genetic resources. Nevertheless, the pollen dispersal pattern of dipterocarp, main canopy tree species in palaeo-tropical forest remains unclear, and flowering intensity variation in the field suggests heterogeneity of fecundity.

    METHODS: Pollen dispersal patterns and male fecundity variation of Shorea leprosula and Shorea parvifolia ssp. parvifolia on Peninsular Malaysian were investigated during two general flowering seasons (2001 and 2002), using a neighbourhood model modified by including terms accounting for variation in male fecundity among individual trees to express heterogeneity in flowering.

    KEY RESULTS: The pollen dispersal patterns of the two dipterocarp species were affected by differences in conspecific tree flowering density, and reductions in conspecific tree flowering density led to an increased selfing rate. Active pollen dispersal and a larger number of effective paternal parents were observed for both species in the season of greater magnitude of general flowering (2002).

    CONCLUSIONS: The magnitude of general flowering, male fecundity variation, and distance between pollen donors and mother trees should be taken into account when attempting to predict the effects of management practices on the self-fertilization and genetic structure of key tree species in tropical forest, and also the sustainability of possible management strategies, especially selective logging regimes.

    Matched MeSH terms: Flowers/physiology*
  12. Ogawa K, Abdullah AM, Awang M, Furukawa A
    J Plant Res, 2005 Jun;118(3):187-92.
    PMID: 15937725
    The daily variations in the in situ CO(2) exchange of the reproductive organs of Durio zibethinus trees, growing in an experimental field at University Putra Malaysia (UPM), were examined at different growth stages. Reproductive organs emerged on the leafless portions of branches inside the crown. The photon flux densities (PFD) in the chambers used for the measurements were less than 100 mumol m(-2) s(-1) and were 40% of the PFD outside of the crown. The daytime net respiration rate and the nighttime dark respiration rate were higher at the time of flower initiation and during the mixed stages, when flower buds, flowers, and fruit coexist, than at the flower bud stage. The net respiration rate was lower than the daytime dark respiration rate at given temperatures, especially at the flower bud and fruit stages. Conversely, the net respiration rate was similar to the daytime dark respiration rate at the mixed stage. Photosynthetic CO(2) refixation reduced the daily respiratory loss by 17, 5, 0.3, and 24% at the flower bud, flower initiation, mixed, and fruit stages, respectively.
    Matched MeSH terms: Flowers/physiology*
  13. Wicaksono A, Mursidawati S, Sukamto LA, Teixeira da Silva JA
    Planta, 2016 Aug;244(2):289-96.
    PMID: 27059028 DOI: 10.1007/s00425-016-2512-8
    MAIN CONCLUSION: The propagation of Rafflesia spp. is considered to be important for future development of ornamental and other applications. Thus far, the only successful propagation technique has been grafting. This mini-review succinctly emphasizes what is known about Rafflesia species. Members of the genus Rafflesia (Rafflesiaceae), which are holoparasitic plants known to grow on a host vine, Tetrastigma sp., are widely spread from the Malayan Peninsula to various islands throughout Indonesia. The plant's geographical distribution as well as many other aspects pertaining to the basic biology of this genus have still not been studied. The young flower buds and flowers of wild Rafflesia hasseltii Suringar, Rafflesia keithii Meijer and Rafflesia cantleyi Solms-Laubach are used in local (Malaysia and Indonesia) traditional ethnomedicine as wound-healing agents, but currently no formal published research exists to validate this property. To maintain a balance between its ethnomedicinal and ornamental use, and conservation, Rafflesia spp. must be artificially cultivated to prevent overexploitation. A successful method of vegetative propagation is by host grafting using Rafflesia-impregnated Tetrastigma onto the stem of a normal Tetrastigma plant. Due to difficulties with culture contamination in vitro, callus induction was only accomplished in 2010 for the first time when picloram and 2,4-D were added to a basal Murashige and Skoog medium, and the tissue culture of holoparasitic plants continues to be extremely difficult. Seeds harvested from fertile fruit may serve as a possible method to propagate Rafflesia spp. This paper provides a brief synthesis on what is known about research related to Rafflesia spp. The objective is to further stimulate researchers to examine, through rigorous scientific discovery, the mechanisms underlying the ethnomedicinal properties, the flowering mechanisms, and suitable in vitro regeneration protocols that would allow for the fortification of germplasm conservation.
    Matched MeSH terms: Flowers/growth & development
  14. Schöner MG, Schöner CR, Simon R, Grafe TU, Puechmaille SJ, Ji LL, et al.
    Curr Biol, 2015 Jul 20;25(14):1911-6.
    PMID: 26166777 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.05.054
    Mutualisms between plants and animals shape the world's ecosystems. In such interactions, achieving contact with the partner species is imperative. Plants regularly advertise themselves with signals that specifically appeal to the partner's perceptual preferences. For example, many plants have acquired traits such as brightly colored, fragrant flowers that attract pollinators with visual, olfactory, or--in the case of a few bat-pollinated flowers--even acoustic stimuli in the form of echo-reflecting structures. However, acoustic attraction in plants is rare compared to other advertisements and has never been found outside the pollination context and only in the Neotropics. We hypothesized that this phenomenon is more widespread and more diverse as plant-bat interactions also occur in the Paleotropics. In Borneo, mutualistic bats fertilize a carnivorous pitcher plant while roosting in its pitchers. The pitcher's orifice features a prolonged concave structure, which we predicted to distinctively reflect the bats' echolocation calls for a wide range of angles. This structure should facilitate the location and identification of pitchers even within highly cluttered surroundings. Pitchers lacking this structure should be less attractive for the bats. Ensonifications of the pitchers around their orifice revealed that this structure indeed acts as a multidirectional ultrasound reflector. In behavioral experiments where bats were confronted with differently modified pitchers, the reflector's presence clearly facilitated the finding and identification of pitchers. These results suggest that plants have convergently acquired reflectors in the Paleotropics and the Neotropics to acoustically attract bats, albeit for completely different ecological reasons.
    Matched MeSH terms: Flowers/physiology
  15. Chong FC, Gwee XF
    Nat Prod Res, 2015;29(15):1485-7.
    PMID: 25836369 DOI: 10.1080/14786419.2015.1027892
    The ultrasonic extraction (UE) method of anthocyanin from Clitoria ternatea flowers using response surface methodology (RSM) was performed in this study. By using RSM, the objective is to optimise the extraction yield of anthocyanin from C. ternatea which is influenced by various factors, including the extraction temperature, time, ratio of solvent to solid and ultrasonic power. The empirical model was investigated by performing first-level optimisation in a two-level factorial design with Design Expert 7 software. In comparison with the conventional solvent extraction, UE showed a 246.48% better extraction yield and produced an anthocyanin extract with a radical scavenging activity of 68.48% at the optimised factors of 50°C, 150 min, 15 mL/g and 240 W.
    Matched MeSH terms: Flowers/chemistry*
  16. Huda AN, Salmah MR, Hassan AA, Hamdan A, Razak MN
    J Insect Sci, 2015;15.
    PMID: 26246439 DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/iev090
    Measuring wild pollinator services in agricultural production is very important in the context of sustainable management. In this study, we estimated the contribution of native pollinators to mango fruit set production of two mango cultivars Mangifera indica (L). cv. 'Sala' and 'Chok Anan'. Visitation rates of pollinators on mango flowers and number of pollen grains adhering to their bodies determined pollinator efficiency for reproductive success of the crop. Chok Anan failed to produce any fruit set in the absence of pollinators. In natural condition, we found that Sala produced 4.8% fruit set per hermaphrodite flower while Chok Anan produced 3.1% per flower. Hand pollination tremendously increased fruit set of naturally pollinated flower for Sala (>100%), but only 33% for Chok Anan. Pollinator contribution to mango fruit set was estimated at 53% of total fruit set production. Our results highlighted the importance of insect pollinations in mango production. Large size flies Eristalinus spp. and Chrysomya spp. were found to be effective pollen carriers and visited more mango flowers compared with other flower visitors.
    Matched MeSH terms: Flowers/physiology
  17. Dieng H, Satho T, Binti Arzemi NA, Aliasan NE, Abang F, Wydiamala E, et al.
    Acta Trop, 2018 Sep;185:230-238.
    PMID: 29856985 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2018.05.019
    Food location by mosquitoes is mediated by resource-derived olfactory and visual signals. Smell sensation is intermittent and dependent on the environment, whereas visual signals are continual and precede olfactory cues. Success of mosquito bait technology, where olfactory cues are used for attraction, is being impeded by reduced attractiveness. Despite proof that mosquitoes respond to colored objects, including those mimicking floral shape, and that they can discriminate among flowers, the impacts of artificial flowers on foraging remain unexplored. Using artificial flowers with sugar rewards, we examined the foraging responses of Aedes aegypti to various colors in equal choice bioassays. Starved adults were exposed to single flowers with petals of a given color (Single Blue Flowers [SBFs]; Single Red Flowers [SRFs]; Single Yellow Flowers [SYFs]; Single Pink Flowers [SPIFs]; and Single Purple Flowers [SPFs]) and two others with white petals (SWFs). Discrepancies in response time, visitation, feeding, and resting of both sexes were compared between colored flowers and SWFs. Ae. aegypti exhibited shorter response times to colored flowers compared to SWFs, but this behavior was mostly seen for SBFs or SYFs in females, and SRFs, SYFs, SPIFs, or SPFs in males. When provided an option to land on colored flowers and SWFs, female visitation occurred at high rates on SBFs, SRFs, SYFs, SPIFs, and SPFs; for males, this preference for colored flowers was seen to a lesser degree on SBF and SPIFs. Both sexes exhibited preference for colored flowers as sugar sources, but with different patterns: SPIFs, SRFs, SYFs, and SPFs for females; SYFs, SPFs, SPIFs and SRFs for males. Females preferentially rested on colored flowers when in competition with SWFs, but this preference was more pronounced for SPFs, SRFs, and SBFs. Males exhibited an increased preference for SRFs, SPFs, and SYFs as resting sites. Our results indicated the attraction of Ae. aegypti to rewarding artificial flowers, in some cases in ways similar to live flowering plants. The discovery that both male and female Ae. aegypti can feed on nectar mimics held by artificial flowers opens new avenues for improving sugar bait technology and for developing new attract-and-kill devices.
    Matched MeSH terms: Flowers*
  18. Wong SK, Lim YY, Ling SK, Chan EW
    Pharmacognosy Res, 2014 Jan;6(1):67-72.
    PMID: 24497746 DOI: 10.4103/0974-8490.122921
    Three compounds isolated from the methanol (MeOH) leaf extract of Vallaris glabra (Apocynaceae) were those of caffeoylquinic acids (CQAs). This prompted a quantitative analysis of their contents in leaves of V. glabra in comparison with those of five other Apocynaceae species (Alstonia angustiloba, Dyera costulata, Kopsia fruticosa, Nerium oleander, and Plumeria obtusa), including flowers of Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle), the commercial source of chlorogenic acid (CGA).
    Matched MeSH terms: Flowers
  19. Chan EW, Lim YY, Tan SP
    Pharmacognosy Res, 2011 Jul;3(3):178-84.
    PMID: 22022166 DOI: 10.4103/0974-8490.85003
    Chlorogenic acid (CGA) or 5-caffeoylquinic acid, was found to be the dominant phenolic compound in leaves of Etlingera elatior (Zingiberaceae). The CGA content of E. elatior leaves was significantly higher than flowers of Lonicera japonica (honeysuckle), the commercial source. In this study, a protocol to produce a standardised herbal CGA extract from leaves of E. elatior using column chromatography was developed.
    Matched MeSH terms: Flowers
  20. Sakai S, Momose K, Yumoto T, Nagamitsu T, Nagamasu H, Hamid AA, et al.
    Am J Bot, 1999 Oct;86(10):1414-36.
    PMID: 10523283
    The first systematic observation of a general flowering, a phenomenon unique to lowland mixed-dipterocarp forests in Southeast Asia, is presented. During general flowering, which occurs at irregular intervals of 3-10 yr, nearly all dipterocarp species together with species of other families come heavily into flower. We monitored reproductive phenology of 576 individual plants representing 305 species in 56 families in Sarawak, Malaysia. Observations continued for 53 mo from August 1992 and covered one episode of a general flowering cycle. Among 527 effective reproductive events during 43 mo, 57% were concentrated in the general flowering period (GFP) of 10 mo in 1996. We classified 257 species into flowering types based on timing and frequency of flowering. The most abundant type was "general flowering" (35%), which flowered only during GFP. The others were "supra-annual" (19%), "annual" (13%), and "sub-annual" (5%) types. General flowering type and temporal aggregation in reproductive events were commonly found among species in various categories of taxonomic groups, life forms, pollination systems, and fruit types. Possible causes for general flowering, such as promotion of pollination brought about by interspecific synchronization and paucity of climatic cues suitable for flowering trigger, are proposed, in addition to the predator satiation hypothesis of Janzen (1974).
    Matched MeSH terms: Flowers
Filters
Contact Us

Please provide feedback to Administrator (afdal@afpm.org.my)

External Links