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Nature surrenders flowery secrets to international team
May 25, 2007A new unifying theory for 'inflorescences'
The poet Dylan Thomas wrote, "The force that drives the green fuse drives the flower." Now, a team of international scientists has unlocked some of the secrets of that force: it has described the rules that govern how plants arrange flowers into branching structures, known in technical terms as 'inflorescences.' Nature has literally thousands of examples of inflorescences, which include the flower clusters of Mountain Ash, the tiny filigreed blossoms on Lilac and the stalkier inflorescences in Fireweed.
Published in the May 24 online edition of the journal Science, the team's paper outlines the mathematical model, molecular genetics and evolutionary processes that work together to create inflorescences as different as Forget-Me-Not and Snapdragon.
"This is a unifying theory that provides an explanation for the diversity of inflorescences we see in nature," says Dr. Przemyslaw Prusinkiewicz, the paper's lead author and a University of Calgary computer scientist. "It was thought that separate mechanisms explained the many differences in form and development of inflorescences in nature, but now we see that these are just facets of the same mechanism."
Dr. Lawrence Harder, a University of Calgary biologist and co-author of the paper, says one of their model's key features is that it is able to anticipate regional variations in inflorescence structures and recognizes that some developmental patterns are impossible.
"What we've done here is to fit together fundamental science from different disciplines to create this exciting new theory," Harder says. "We can now say with more certainty why we have all this diversity that surrounds us; it's also possible that our approach can be adapted to other fields."
A mathematical model that Prusinkiewicz developed has a unique property of producing diverse inflorescence structures with relatively small changes in input, and is a key element of the overall theory. Another is the work of molecular geneticist Dr. Enrico Coen of the United Kingdom's John Innes Centre, who related Prusinkiewicz's model to the action of plant genes.
University of Calgary
"This is a unifying theory that provides an explanation for the diversity of inflorescences we see in nature," says Dr. Przemyslaw Prusinkiewicz, the paper's lead author and a University of Calgary computer scientist. "It was thought that separate mechanisms explained the many differences in form and development of inflorescences in nature, but now we see that these are just facets of the same mechanism."
Dr. Lawrence Harder, a University of Calgary biologist and co-author of the paper, says one of their model's key features is that it is able to anticipate regional variations in inflorescence structures and recognizes that some developmental patterns are impossible.
"What we've done here is to fit together fundamental science from different disciplines to create this exciting new theory," Harder says. "We can now say with more certainty why we have all this diversity that surrounds us; it's also possible that our approach can be adapted to other fields."
A mathematical model that Prusinkiewicz developed has a unique property of producing diverse inflorescence structures with relatively small changes in input, and is a key element of the overall theory. Another is the work of molecular geneticist Dr. Enrico Coen of the United Kingdom's John Innes Centre, who related Prusinkiewicz's model to the action of plant genes.
University of Calgary
Study of alternate bearing presents recommendations for citrus growers
Alternate bearing (also called biennial or uneven bearing) is the tendency of fruit trees to produce a heavy crop one year (called "on-crop") followed by a light crop or no crop the following "off-crop" year.
How to build a plant
Walking through a tropical or temperate forest immediately impresses us with the myriad forms and soaring structures of the plant world, but our knowledge of how plants are actually built, cell by cell, is still incomplete.
The evolution of food plants: Genetic control of grass flower architecture
Scientists are interested in understanding genetic control of grass inflorescence architecture because seeds of cereal grasses (e.g. rice, wheat, maize) provide most of the world's food.
More Inflorescences Current Events and Inflorescences News Articles
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Inflorescence by Sarah Hannah (Author) In this fierce, often witty memoir-in-verse, Sarah Hannah confronts her role as caretaker of her dying, mentally ill mother, artist Renee Rothbein. Entwining the lore of wildflowers with richly evocative language, Hannah's stunningly contemporary voice summons truth and love from loss with unflinching honesty and candor. Poems from this collection have been nominated for four Pushcart Prizes. Sarah Hannah's first book, Longing Distance (Tupelo Press, 2004), was a semifinalist for the Yale Younger Poets Prize. Her poems have appeared in many journals, including Parnassus, The Southern Review, Harvard Review, and AGNI. She grew up in Newton, Massachusetts, and teaches at Emerson College. |
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Correlation in the Inflorescence of Sanguinaria by J. A. Harris (Author) | |
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Laurel Zucker-Inflorescence-Music for Solo Flute by Laurel Zucker Laurel Zucker (Performer), Kuhlau and Nielson and Feld and Edgard Varese and Fukishima (Performer), none (Performer) A tour de force of Solo flute music played beautifully by flute soloist , Laurel Zucker |
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Stephen Blumberg -Inflorescence for Flute Alone Laurel Zucker (Primary Contributor) |
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Botany Inflorescence Flora Fauna Fine Art Antique 1860 by old-print Old Antique Historical Victorian Prints Maps and Historic Fine Art---------- Botany Inflorescence Flora Fauna Fine Art Antique 1860 Old Antique Print Size Approx 9" X 7" . From A Collection Of An Old Retired Antique Print Dealer . C1790 - C1880 Date In Title Where Known. Over 100 Yrears Old And Not A Modern Reproduction. Enlarged Image Shown Is Larger That Actual Size But Will Give You An Idea Of The Quality Of This Original Old Antique Print. |
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Inflorescences in Bruniaceae: With General Comments on Inflorescences in Woody Plants. Volume 12 b | |
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The Inflorescence: Introduction.: An article from: The Botanical Review by Shirley C. Tucker (Author), James Grimes (Author) This digital document is an article from The Botanical Review, published by New York Botanical Garden on October 1, 1999. The length of the article is 6937 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser. Citation Details Title: The Inflorescence: Introduction. Author: Shirley C. Tucker Publication: The Botanical Review (Refereed) Date: October 1, 1999 Publisher: New York Botanical Garden Volume: 65 Issue: 4 Page: 303 Distributed by Thomson... | |
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Laurel Zucker-Inflorescence IV- Music for solo flute by Laurel Zucker Laurel Zucker (Performer), Joseph Bodin de Boismortier (Performer), Eugene Bozza (Performer), Leonardo De Lorenzo (Performer), Jean-Michel Damase (Performer), Joseph Lauber (Performer), Saverio Mercadante (Performer), Jurriaan Andriessen (Performer), Glenn Disney (Performer), Cindy Cox (Performer), none (Performer) Extra-ordinary solo flute music performed by Laurel Zucker, flutist. The music comes from Baroque Era, classical Era, Romantic Era, and 20 and 21st century Era. Recorded by Don Ososke. Edited by David Bowles. Mastered by Keith Sklower. Cover Art Painting by Dorothy Spangler. | |
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Antique Print C1800-1870 Inflorescence Nature Plants by old-print Old Antique Print c1800- 1870 date if known in title, purchased at auction from an old antique print dealer.The overall scan size is 11.5 x 9 inches (290 x 230).Size of each plate varies so check against scale shown which is 1 inch apart (2.5 cm) to find the size of the plate. These prints are mostly black and white some show colour due to camera check image carefully.All are genuine antiques and not modern copies. |
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Inflorescence -Music for Solo Flute(2 Cd Set) Laurel Zucker (Primary Contributor) |
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