Lumnitzera rosea (Combretaceae) -- Its Status and Floral Morphology

Introduction. Cultivation of medicinal plants in the mountains has its own characteristics due to the high ultraviolet radiation and sharp climatic fluctuations, which is important to consider when farming. In this regard, the issue of studying the accumulation of volatile organic compounds of Hyssopus officinalis L. introduced in these conditions becomes relevant. Aim. Analysis of the dependence of the content of volatile organic compounds in essential oils of 6 cultivars of Hyssopus officinalis L. ("Akkord", "Ametist", "Goluboy", "Dachnyi lekar", "Otradny", "Rozovy") and three forms of the variety "Rozovy": with white, pink and blue flowers introduced at an altitude of 1100 meters above sea level in order to determine the most valuable of them for effective cultivation in mountain areas. Research methods. The essential oils were obtained by steam distillation. The composition of volatile organic compounds was determined by chromatic-mass spectrometry on a Shimadzu GCMS-GP2010 Plus spectrometer with a mass spectrometric quadruple detector with an SLB-5 ms non polar capillary column, 30 meters long. Results. The content of essential oil in varieties ranges from 0.37 to 0.75%. Variety "Ametist" is characterized by a relatively high content of essential oil. Plants with pink flowers contain more essential oil than plants with blue and white flowers. The essential oil of the varieties contains from 31 to 37 components, while the number of major components varies between 13 and 17 compounds. A comparative study of plants of different colors according to the nature of biosynthesis in the essential oil of Pinocamphone and trans-Pinocamphone shows the following: in the essential oil of plants with white flowers, the content of Pinocamphone is observed up to 44.99%, in the blue-flowered form up to 20.85%, and in plants with pink flowers up to 45.23%. A somewhat different picture is observed in the biosynthesis of trans-Pinocamphone: the maximum proportion of this component falls on the sample with blue flowers (34.61%), significantly less in the sample with pink flowers (up to 4.43%), while white-flowered plants have none. The article presents a cluster analysis of 6 cultivars and 3 forms of the "Rozovy" variety (with white, blue and pink flowers) of Hyssopus officinalis L. according to the accumulation of volatile organic compounds. Varieties differ in the content of individual components, while β-Pinene, Pinocamphone and trans-Pinocamphone are the main plant compounds. Conclusions. As a result of the introduction of 6 cultivars of Hyssopus officinalis L. ("Akkord", "Ametist", "Goluboy", "Dachnyi lekar", "Otradny", "Rozovy") and 3 forms of the variety "Rozovy": with white, with pink and with blue flowers at an altitude of 1100 meters above sea level in identical soil-climatic mountain conditions, differences were revealed both in the accumulation of essential oils and in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. The data obtained can be used in laying out areas for the cultivation of Hyssopus officinalis L. for pharmaceutical and food use, which can give an additional impetus to the development of mountainous areas.

A variant of tea tree (Camellia sinensis (L.)) with purple buds and leaves and pink flowers can be used as a unique ornamental plant. However, the mechanism of flower coloration remains unclear. To elucidate the molecular mechanism of coloration, as well as anthocyanin accumulation in white and pink tea flowers, metabolite profiling and transcriptome sequencing was analyzed in various tea flower developmental stages. Results of metabolomics analysis revealed that three specific anthocyanin substances could be identified, i.e., cyanidin O-syringic acid, petunidin 3-O-glucoside, and pelargonidin 3-O-β-d-glucoside, which only accumulated in pink tea flowers, and were not able to be detected in white flowers. RNA-seq and weighted gene co-expression network analysis revealed eight highly expressed structural genes involved in anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway, and particularly, different expression patterns of flavonol synthase and dihydroflavonol-4-reductase genes were observed. We deduced that the disequilibrium of expression levels in flavonol synthases and dihydroflavonol-4-reductases resulted in different levels of anthocyanin accumulation and coloration in white and pink tea flowers. Results of qRT-PCR performed for 9 key genes suggested that the expression profiles of differentially expressed genes were generally consistent with the results of high-throughput sequencing. These findings provide insight into anthocyanin accumulation and coloration mechanisms during tea flower development, which will contribute to the breeding of pink-flowered and anthocyanin-rich tea cultivars.

Combined transcriptome and metabolome analysis and evaluation of antioxidant and antibacterial activities in white, pink, and violet flowers of Angelica gigas

Background: Hyssopus officinalis L. (hyssop), a species native to the Caspian Sea region, has been cultivated in the Republic of Moldova as aromatic plant and has been used in folk medicine as antitussive, expectorant, carminative, digestive and sedative remedy. Material and methods: The aerial parts of H. officinalis L., with pink, white and blue flowers, were collected from the collection of the Scientific Practical Center in the Field of Medicinal Plants during flowering phase. The extracts were obtained with 70% ethanol by maceration with stirring. The concetration of the extracts was done with the rotative evaporator Laborota 4011. Identification of phenolic compounds in dried extracts from hyssop herb was carried out by thin-layer chromatography. The total content of hydrocyanamic acids was measured in plant products and dried ethanolic extracts, by spectrophotometric method, with Arnow’s reagent. Quantitative analysis of total phenolic content was carried out by UV-spectrophotometry analysis, using a Metertech UV/VIS SP 8001 spectrophotometer. Results: The chlorogenic (Rf 0.47) and caffeic (Rf 0.93) acids were identified in the three genotypes of Hyssop herba, with pink, white and blue flowers. The total of hydroxycinnamic acids, expressed in caffeic acid, for both, aerial parts and dry extract, was the highest in H. officinalis L. with white flowers (1.484 mg/g; 3.014 mg/g respectively), followed by H. officinalis L. with pink flowers (1.190 mg/g; 2.915 mg/g) and H. officinalis L. with blue flowers (1.015 mg/g; 2.851 mg/g). The highest polyphenol content, expressed in gallic acid equivalent (GAE), was found in the dry extract of H. officinalis L. with blue flowers (39.056 mgGAE/g dry extract). Conclusions: This study showed that the extract of the Hyssopus officinalis L. containing phenolic compounds, can be used as a natural antioxidant in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.

Prunus mume is the only fragrant flowering species of Prunus. According to the previous studies, benzyl acetate and eugenol dominate its floral scent. However, the diversity of its floral scents remains to be elucidated. In this work, the floral volatiles emitted from eight intraspecific cultivars of P. mume with white, pink and red flowers, were collected and analyzed using headspace solid-phase microextraction combined with gas chromatograms-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS). In total, 31 volatile compounds were identified, in which phenylpropanoids/benzenoids accounted for over 95% of the total emission amounts. Surprisingly, except for benzyl acetate and eugenol, several novel components, such as benzyl alcohol, cinnamyl acohol, cinnamy acetate, and benzyl benzoate were found in some cultivars. The composition of floral volatiles in cultivars with white flowers was similar, in which benzyl acetate was dominant, while within pink flowers, there were differences of floral volatile compositions. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the emissions of benzyl alcohol, cinnamyl alcohol, benzyl acetate, eugenol, cinnamyl acetate, and benzyl benzoate could make these intraspecific cultivars distinguishable from each other. Further, hierarchical cluster analysis indicated that cultivars with similar a category and amount of floral compounds were grouped together. Our findings lay a theoretical basis for fragrant plant breeding in P. mume.

Analysis of petal anthocyanins to investigate coloration mechanism in herbaceous peony cultivars

Millettia pinnata, a potential biodiesel plant, bears copious pink and white flowers from February to April, and there are plenty of pollen and nectar rewards for the flower visitors. Four species of bees, Indian rockbee, Apis dorsata, Indian honeybee, A. cerana indica, little bee, A. florea, and stingless bee, Tetragonula iridipennis, visited the fallen flowers of M. pinnata for the collection of rewards in the flowers. In the current study, A. cerana indica showed the highest frequency of foraging on fallen flowers (6.40 ± 1.67 bees/5 minutes), followed by T. iridipennis (4.20 ± 0.84 bees/5 minutes). The bees handled 3.01 ± 1.00 fallen white flowers and 2.20 ± 0.84 pink flowers in 5 minutes. The bees spent 4.40 ± 0.55 seconds and 4.20 ± 0.84 seconds on the fallen pink and white flowers, respectively. The study reported a unique foraging behavior of bees in the fallen flowers of M. pinnata, requiring caution in refraining from the inter-cultivation operations below the trees during the bloom period to enable floral rewards to the bees from the fallen flowers.

The aim of the studies conducted in 2015-2016 was to compare the chemical composition of essential oils isolated from hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis L.) with blue, pink and white flowers by hydrodistillation in a Clevenger-type apparatus. GC-MS analysis of the isolated oils revealed the presence of 74 components representing mainly oxygenated monoterpenes (38.48-54.04 %), sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (19.22-28.31 %) and oxygenated sesquiterpenes (12.90-21.08 %). The main components were isopinocamphone (20.05-43.02 %), pinocamphone (1.68-19.62 %), elemol (8.04-11.37 %) and β-pinene (4.53-7.49 %). Other constituents, identified in significant amounts, were: germacrene D (3.85-5.76 %), β-phellandrene (1.46-4.37 %), bicyclogermacrene (2.30-4.15 %) and β-caryophyllene (2.73-4.13 %). On the basis of the obtained data it was proved that the highest content of isopinocamphone (43.02 and 33.33 % in 2015 and 2016, respectively) was noted in the essential oil isolated from hyssop with pink flowers. The color of the flowers had no significant effect on the amount of essential oil.

The ornamental peach cultivar 'Hongbaihuatao (HBH)' can simultaneously bear pink, red, and variegated flowers on a single tree. Anthocyanin content in pink flowers is extremely low, being only 10% that of a red flower. Surprisingly, the expression of anthocyanin structural and potential regulatory genes in white flowers was not significantly lower than that in both pink and red flowers. However, proteomic analysis revealed a GST encoded by a gene-regulator involved in anthocyanin transport (Riant)-which is expressed in the red flower, but almost undetectable in the variegated flower. The Riant gene contains an insertion-deletion (indel) polymorphism in exon 3. In white flowers, the Riant gene is interrupted by a 2-bp insertion in the last exon, which causes a frameshift and a premature stop codon. In contrast, both pink and red flowers that arise from bud sports are heterozygous for the Riant locus, with one functional allele due to the 2-bp deletion or a novel 1-bp insertion. Southern blot analysis indicated that the Riant gene occurs in a single copy in the peach genome and it is not interrupted by a transposon. The function of the Riant gene was confirmed by its ectopic expression in the Arabidopsis tt19 mutant, where it complements the anthocyanin phenotype, but not the proanthocyanidin pigmentation in seed coat. Collectively,these results indicate that a small indel mutation in the Riant gene, which is not the result of a transposon insertion or excision, causes variegated colouration of peach flowers.

Floral color changes and retention of old flowers are frequently combined phenomena restricted to the floral guide or single flowers in few-flowered inflorescences. They are thought to increase the attractiveness over long distances and to direct nearby pollinators toward the rewarding flowers. In Tibouchina pulchra, a massively flowering tree, the whole flower changes its color during anthesis. On the first day, the flowers are white and on the next 3 days, they change to pink. This creates a new large-scale color pattern in which the white pre-changed flowers contrast against the pink post-changed ones over the entire tree. We describe the spectral characteristics of floral colors of T. pulchra and test bumblebees’ response to this color pattern when viewed at different angles (simulating long and short distances). The results indicated the role of different color components in bumblebee attraction and the possible scenario in which this flower color pattern has evolved. We tested bumblebees’ preference for simulated trees with 75% pink and 25% white flowers resembling the color patterns of T. pulchra, and trees with green leaves and pink flowers (control) in long-distance approach. We also compared an artificial setting with three pink flowers and one white flower (T. pulchra model) against four pink flowers with white floral guides (control) in short-distance approach. Bumblebees spontaneously preferred the simulated T. pulchra patterns in both approaches despite similar reward. Moreover, in short distances, pollinator visits to peripheral, non-rewarding flowers occurred only half as frequently in the simulated T. pulchra when compared to the control. Thefore, this exceptional floral color change and the retention of old flowers in T. pulchra favors the attraction of pollinators over long distances in a deception process while it honestly directs them toward the rewarding flowers at short distances possibly exploring their innate color preferences.

Abstract. This study was conducted to provide exportation strategy by surveying on preference of Japanese consumers on cut chrysanthemum exported. The survey was conducted two times by a local survey company in Japan, and the surveys were conducted largely on chrysanthemums for casual flowers and the altar. After departmentalizing Japanese consumers per groups the result were analyzed through conjoint and cluster methods, flower colors and shape were used relatively higher rate for selection criteria of flowers in every group in the case of casual flowers. Group 1 comprised of 60 year-old housewives who reside in a small city with high school diploma and annual income less than 300 million yen, and group 2 of 40 year-old housewives who are small city residents with high school diplomas and annual income of 300 million yen show higher rate of use in flower shape than colors. Another group 3 whose members are 50 year-old housewives, small city residents with high school diplomas and annual income of 600 million yen showed higher rate of use colors than the shape for selection criteria of flowers. The consumption characteristics according to the ages of the consumers showed a pronounced tendency. The 40-50 year-old housewives preferred single flowers packed with other flowers, and the 60 year-old housewives double flowers packed with only chrysanthemums. In flower color, the 50-60 year-old housewives preferred white and yellow flowers, and the 40 year-old housewives pink and yellow flowers. Therefore, there are needs for development strategy of new products considering the consumption characteristics of flower shape and color according to the ages of consumer. After analyzing the chrysanthemums for altar by departmentalization of Japanese consumers, every group showed relative higher rate of use for flower shape for selection criteria of flowers. According to the analysis on the consumption characteristics, group 1 which is comprised of 30-40 year-old housewives who reside in small city with high school diplomas and income less than 300 million yen, and the group 2 of 20 year-old housewives who reside in small city with college diplomas and annual income less than 300 million yen. They are very sensitive to the price of the products while the group 3 of 50 year-old housewives who reside in small city with high school diplomas and annual income less than 300 million yen are insensitive to the price. The 30-50 year-old housewives preferred white and pink flowers, and the 20 year-old housewives yellow and pink flowers. In flower shape, the 50 year-old housewives preferred anemone shape, the 30-40 year-old housewives double shape, and the 20 year-old housewives pompon shapes. Therefore, the white, double flowers for the 30-40 year-old housewives and the yellow, pompon flowers for the 20 year-old housewives are needed to be created at the lowest cost, while the white, anemone flowers are needed to created at higher cost with high quality. In light of these results, it is considered that we should understand the types of purchasing products through consumption characteristics of Japanese consumers. Also we should plan, create market-oriented and consumer-oriented products, and should export them in order to expand more exportation.

Although floral herbivory has recently received increased attention as an important factor influencing plant reproduction, relatively little is known about how its frequency and intensity vary depending on traits of host plants. Here we report that herbivore pressure by a weevil, Zacladus geranii, is associated with a flower color polymorphism of Geranium thunbergii (Geraniaceae). Pink and white flower color morphs have been reported in G. thunbergii, and we found in a three-year field survey in multiple populations that, generally, adult weevils more preferentially visited white flowers than pink flowers. Consistently, we found more severe damage by weevil larvae in white flowers. Overall herbivore pressure for G. thunbergii varied strongly between populations, and the difference seems to be partly explained by the co-occurrence of a related plant species, Geranium yezoense, in a population, as weevils preferred it to both color morphs of G. thunbergii, thereby relaxing overall herbivore pressure for G. thunbergii. Nonetheless, despite such high variability, the preference of weevils for white morphs over pink morphs of G. thunbergii was found across multiple populations. We discuss possible mechanisms causing the association between flower color and herbivore preference as well as its evolutionary consequences.

Lysionotus coccinus G.W. Hu & Q.F. Wang, a distinct new species from Yingjiang County, southwestern Yunnan Province, China, is described and illustrated. It belongs to L. sect. Lysionotus, but has scarlet flowers while all other known species in this section have white, yellow, purple or pink flowers. Color photographs and a chart are provided for comparing the new species with related species.

Although mangroves possess a variety of morphological and physiological adaptations for life in a stressful habitat, interspecific differences in survival and growth under different environmental conditions can shape their local and geographic distributions. Soil salinity and light are known to affect mangrove performance, often in an interactive fashion. It has also been hypothesized that mangroves are intrinsically shade intolerant due to the high physiological cost of coping with saline flooded soils. To evaluate the relationship between stress tolerance and species distributions, we compared responses of seedlings of three widespread mangrove species and one narrow endemic mangrove species in a factorial array of light levels and soil salinities in an outdoor laboratory experiment. The more narrowly distributed species was expected to exhibit a lower tolerance of potentially stressful conditions. Two of the widespread species, Avicennia germinans and Lumnitzera racemosa, survived and grew well at low-medium salinity, regardless of light level, but performed poorly at high salinity, particularly under high light. The third widespread species, Rhizophora mangle, responded less to variation in light and salinity. However, at high salinity, its relative growth rate was low at every light level and none of these plants flushed leaves. As predicted, the rare species, Pelliciera rhizophorae, was the most sensitive to environmental stressors, suffering especially high mortality and reduced growth and quantum yield under the combined conditions of high light and medium-high salinity. That it only thrives under shaded conditions represents an important exception to the prevailing belief that halophytes are intrinsically constrained to be shade intolerant.

Most soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] cultivars and plant introductions have either purple (Wl) or white (wl) flowers. Pink (wp) flower color results when the homozygous wp alleles are combined with Wl. This study was conducted to determine the effect of pink flower color on agronomic traits in soybean. Pink and near‐isogenic purple‐flowered lines were derived from an F4 plant. Seven homozygous pink‐flowered, three homozygous purple‐flowered, and two lines segregating for pink and purple flower color were evaluated at three locations in Illinois for 2 yr. When pink‐flowered lines were compared to purple‐flowered lines no differences were found for yield, maturity, height, lodging, or seed quality, while significant (P < 0.05) differences were found for seed weight, protein, and oil concentration. Pinkflowered lines averaged 22% higher in seed weight, 4% higher in protein, and 3% lower in oil compared to the purple‐flowered lines. The pink flower trait represents unique germplasm in soybean that can be used in the development of high yielding cultivars with increased seed protein.