 |
|
UBC researchers reveal dwarf aquatic plants' hidden ancestry
March 15, 2007A team of UBC researchers has re-classified an ancient line of aquatic plants previously thought to be related to grasses and rushes. The discovery clarifies what may be one of the biggest misunderstandings in botanical history.
"It's a classic case of mistaken identity," says Sean Graham, an associate professor and researcher with the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems. "And it took DNA sequence evidence coupled with a critical re-examination of anatomy to assign these plants to their proper place in the plant evolutionary family tree."
Graham and his PhD students Hardeep Rai and Jeffery Saarela, who is now a research scientist at the Canadian Museum of Nature, show that Hydatellaceae are actually closely related to water lilies. Their findings are published in this week's edition of the journal Nature.
Due to their narrow, pointed leaves, botanists had long viewed Hydatellaceae as monocots, a large and diverse group of flowering plants that includes the grasses, gingers and palms. By analyzing the plants at the molecular level, Graham's team has now determined that these moss-size plants are instead part of an older line of flowering plants that includes the water lilies. This ancient line split off the main trunk of the family tree of flowering plants soon after they began to diversify, at least 135 million years ago, during the age of the dinosaurs.
Fully grown individuals in the Hydatellaceae family can be as small as 1-2 centimetres in height, and have dozens of minute flowers clustered into each compact flower head.
Native to Australia, New Zealand and India, they thrive in seasonal freshwater pools and swamps, and may blossom underwater at depths of up to one metre, or as the pools dry out.
"For more than a century, scientists have been piecing together the details of the rapid rise and early diversification of flowering plants," says Graham. "Discovering this living plant's ancient heritage makes us re-evaluate our understanding of early flowering-plant evolution. For botanists, this is like finding something you thought was a lizard is actually a living dinosaur."
Graham led the project with researchers from the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, Australia, the University of Zurich, Harvard University, and the University of California, Davis.
"This provides a major piece in the puzzle of flowering-plant origins - something Charles Darwin once termed an 'abominable mystery' - by revealing that some of the earliest evolutionary branches were more diverse then we once thought."
University of British Columbia
Due to their narrow, pointed leaves, botanists had long viewed Hydatellaceae as monocots, a large and diverse group of flowering plants that includes the grasses, gingers and palms. By analyzing the plants at the molecular level, Graham's team has now determined that these moss-size plants are instead part of an older line of flowering plants that includes the water lilies. This ancient line split off the main trunk of the family tree of flowering plants soon after they began to diversify, at least 135 million years ago, during the age of the dinosaurs.
Fully grown individuals in the Hydatellaceae family can be as small as 1-2 centimetres in height, and have dozens of minute flowers clustered into each compact flower head.
Native to Australia, New Zealand and India, they thrive in seasonal freshwater pools and swamps, and may blossom underwater at depths of up to one metre, or as the pools dry out.
"For more than a century, scientists have been piecing together the details of the rapid rise and early diversification of flowering plants," says Graham. "Discovering this living plant's ancient heritage makes us re-evaluate our understanding of early flowering-plant evolution. For botanists, this is like finding something you thought was a lizard is actually a living dinosaur."
Graham led the project with researchers from the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, Australia, the University of Zurich, Harvard University, and the University of California, Davis.
"This provides a major piece in the puzzle of flowering-plant origins - something Charles Darwin once termed an 'abominable mystery' - by revealing that some of the earliest evolutionary branches were more diverse then we once thought."
University of British Columbia
Aquatic Plants Current Events and Aquatic Plants News RSSBillion-year revision of plant evolution timeline may stem from discovery of lignin in seaweed
Land plants' ability to sprout upward through the air, unsupported except by their own woody tissues, has long been considered one of the characteristics separating them from aquatic plants, which rely on water to support them.
Models Simulate Nitrate Dynamics in Garonne, Southwest France
The over-enrichment of fresh, transitional, and marine waters with nitrogen (N) can lead to problems associated with eutrophication, such as a change in species composition of aquatic plants and nuisance algal blooms. In this context, dynamic models of flow and water quality are required to aid the implementation of the Water Framework Directive and to understand the impacts of environmental change.
Alpine rivers hold important clues for preserving biodiversity and coping with climate change
Marginal plants, particularly trees, play a crucial role in sustaining the biodiversity of Europe's big river systems, according to a recently held workshop organised by the European Science Foundation (ESF).
Nanoscale silver: No silver lining?
Widespread use of nanoscale silver will challenge regulatory agencies to balance important potential benefits against the possibility of significant environmental risk, highlighting the need to identify research priorities concerning this emerging technology, according to a new report released today by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN).
Woody and aquatic plants pose greatest invasive threat to China
Although China currently has fewer invasive woody plants than the United States, China's potential for invasion by nonnative trees and shrubs is high, according to an article in the May 2008 issue of BioScience.
Research team finds that microorganisms filter nitrogen from small streams
To understand how nitrogen accumulates in large rivers and oceans miles and miles away, scientists like Walter Dodds looked at small streams flowing closer to home.
Healthy rivers needed to remove nitrogen
Healthy streams with vibrant ecosystems play a critical role in removing excess nitrogen caused by human activities, according to a major new national study published this week in Nature.
Crane hatching marks a first for Smithsonian's National Zoo
Smithsonian's National Zoo has announced a first in its 118-year history — the hatching of a rare wattled crane chick.
Environments resilient in the face of hurricanes, but questions remain, says journal special issue
The international Estuarine Research Federation (ERF) has announced the publication of a special issue of its scientific journal, Estuaries and Coasts, focused on environmental impacts of hurricanes in coastal areas.
Independent Panel Recommends Strong, Clear Guidelines for Development of Marine Aquaculture in the United States
Congress should enact legislation to ensure that strong environmental standards are in place to regulate the siting and conduct of offshore marine aquaculture, according to an independent panel of leaders from scientific, policymaking, business, and conservation institutions.
More Aquatic Plants Current Events and Aquatic Plants News Articles
 |
biOrb Aquatic Topiary Packs - 3 Plants by biOrb Aquatic Topiary can be simply added to the aquarium, instantly adding color and additional interest. Aquatic Topiary Packs contain three sizes with full instructions, they are a wonderfully simple way to enhance any aquarium in just a few minutes. |
 |
A Manual of Aquatic Plants by Norman C. Fassett (Author), Eugene C. Ogden (Editor) Though Norman C. Fassett’s classic, Manual of Aquatic Plants has been superseded by a comprehensive new edition from Garrett Crow and Barre Hellquist (see below), it still has an affectionate following, much like old editions of classic cookbooks and dictionaries. Fassett prepared the data to make the identification of aquatic plants as simple as possible, not only when they are flowering or fruiting, but also in sterile condition. The Manual covers a region from Minnesota to Missouri and eastward to the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Virginia. Originally published in 1940, the Manual was reissued in 1957 with revised nomenclature and other updates by Eugene C. Ogden. A Manual of Aquatic Plants includes 219 elegant line drawings and seven photographs of aquatic plants, a glossary,... |
 |
Graceful Dwarf Cattail 50 Seeds by Hirt's Gardens Graceful cattail is native to marshes and wetlands in Europe and Asia. It is a marginal aquatic perennial that spreads by creeping rhizomes to form dense colonies in shallow water. Features narrow, upright, sword-like, linear, mostly basal, green leaves up to 5 feet tall and a stiff, unbranched central flower stalk that is typically equal to or slightly less than the height of the leaves. Yellowish male (staminate) flowers are located at the top of the inflorescence and greenish female (pistillate) flowers are located underneath. In this species, the staminate and pistillate flowers are separated by a gap of up to 2 inches of stalk. Flowers bloom in summer. After bloom, the male flowers rapidly disperse, leaving a naked stalk tip. The pollinated female flowers turn brown as the seeds... |
 |
Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Northeastern North America, Volume I: A Revised and Enlarged Edition of Norman C. Fassett's A Manual of Aquatic Plants, Volume ... Gymnosperms, and Angiosperms: Dicotyledons by Garrett E. Crow (Author), C. Barre Hellquist (Author), Norman C. Fassett (Author) This is by far the best and most comprehensive manual and illustrated guide to native and naturalized vascular plants—ferns, conifers, and flowering plants—growing in aquatic and wetland habitats in northeastern North America, from Newfoundland west to Minnesota and south to Virginia and Missouri. Published in two volumes, this long-awaited work completely revises and greatly expands Norman Fassett’s 1940 classic A Manual of Aquatic Plants, yet retains the features that made Fassett’s book so useful. Features include: |
 |
Water Lily Nymphaea 20 Seeds by Hirt's Gardens The leaves are round unlike tropical lilies which are jagged or notched on the edges. Horticulturally, water-lilies are divided into two main categories: hardy and tropical. Hardy water lilies bloom only during the day, but tropical water lilies can bloom either day or night, and are the only group to contain blue-flowered plants. The viability of water lily seeds is exceptionally long, around 2000 years. Hardy water lilies grow best in a generous amount of heavy garden soil, avoiding too much organic matter unless it has been well composted. Even the heaviest clay soils will work fine with the addition of a little sand and fertilizer. Depth should be maintained between 6" to 18" when first transplanted and then once established can be grown from 12" to 30" deep depending on the variety. |
 |
Through the Looking Glass: A Field Guide to Aquatic Plants by Susan Borman (Author), Robert Korth (Author), Jo Temte (Author), Carol Watkins (Illustrator) This delightful, large-format field guide to aquatic plants in North America is accessible and inviting to general readers, yet detailed enough for use by botanists and natural resource managers. Covering freshwater plants and some found in brackish waters, the book is organized into sections on emergent plants, free-floating plants, floating-leaf plants, and submersed plants. Charming habitat drawings introduce each section. The fine pen and ink drawings for each species showing the entire plant are supplemented, where helpful, with detailed drawings of leaves, stem cross-sections, seeds, flowers, and other distinguishing features. Nature lovers, waterfront property owners, teachers and students, and water resource specialists will enjoy this closer look at aquatic plants, from the... |
 |
Beckett Water Gardening Aquatic Plant Accessories Aquatic Plant Baskets Model PBR9 by Beckett Corporation Beckett Water Gardening Round Aquatic Plant Basket |
 |
PondCare Aquatic Plant Food Tablets 60 Tablets by AllPawsPetSupply Provide essential nutrients and trace elements needed by pond plants to ensure non-stop blooming. Tablets contain iron for lush, green growth and boron to promote flower formation. Keeps water lilies blooming all season long. |
|
Grasses, Sedges and Rushes Part 2 Aquatic Plant Identification Also With: Univerity of Florida (Producer) 55 minutes VHS | |
 |
Aquatic Plant Nutrition 40 Ct by Organica Biotech, Inc. Patented biologically enhanced fertilizer tablet - 100% organic and natural. Low nitrogen and phosphorus will not promote algae blooms. Beneficial microorganisms permit you to stimulate lush growth with low N, P, K analysis. Ideal for all aquatic plants and safe for all aquatic life. |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |