Jump to content

Phyllary

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Citation bot (talk | contribs) at 16:03, 2 December 2019 (Add: pmid, work. Removed URL that duplicated unique identifier. Removed parameters. Some additions/deletions were actually parameter name changes.| You can use this bot yourself. Report bugs here.| Activated by User:Nemo bis | via #UCB_webform). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

In botanical terminology, a phyllary, also known an involucral bract or tegule, is a single bract of the involucre of a composite flower.[1][2][3] The involucre is the grouping of bracts together. Phyllaries are reduced leaf-like structures that form one or more whorls immediately below a flower head.[1]

Function

Phyllaries provide protection to developing flowers and fruits.[4] In the dandelion hybrid Taraxacum japonicum × officinale, recurved phyllaries help defend the flowers from herbivory by slugs.[5]

They sometimes assist in the dispersal of fruits.[4] The hooked phyllaries of burdock species (Arctium) cling to the fur and feathers of animals, dispersing the seeds away from the parent plant (exozoochory).[6][7]

Structure and arrangement

Phyllary morphology is useful in plant identification as between species, they may vary in number, shape, width, length, hairiness, presence of glands, or texture.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b "Jepson Herbarium: Jepson Flora Project: Jepson eFlora: Glossary". ucjeps.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  2. ^ "NYGB Steele Herbarium Glossary". Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Reznicek, A.A.; Voss, E.G.; Walters, B.S. "Asteraceae". michiganflora.net. Michigan Flora. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Glossary of botanical terms for Compositae". www.kew.org. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  5. ^ Wu, Fu-Yu; Yahara, Tetsukazu (1 May 2017). "Recurved Taraxacum phyllaries function as a floral defense: experimental evidence and its implication for Taraxacum evolutionary history". Ecological Research. 32 (3): 313–329. doi:10.1007/s11284-017-1444-5. ISSN 1440-1703.
  6. ^ Hawthorn, Wayne R.; Hayne, P. D. (1 January 1978). "Seed production and predispersal seed predation in the biennial composite species, Arctium minus (Hill) Bernh. and A. lappa L.". Oecologia. 34 (3): 283–295. doi:10.1007/BF00344907. ISSN 1432-1939. PMID 28309875.
  7. ^ Clark, Patterson. "Burdock: Sowing seeds with fur and bur". The Washington Post. Retrieved 26 May 2019.