Green greenhouse: leaf enclosure for fruit development of an androdioecious vine, Schizopepon bryoniifolius.

ABSTRACT: Individual plants can produce leaves that differ substantially in size, morphology and many other traits. However, leaves that play a specific role in reproduction have rarely been reported. Here, we report leaves specialized to enclose fruit clusters and enhance seed production in an annual vine, Schizopepon bryoniifolius. Enclosure leaves were produced at the end of the growing season in late autumn. They were different in greenness and structure from other leaves. Under solar radiation, the ambient temperature inside an intact enclosure was up to 4.6°C higher than that near a fruit cluster whose enclosure leaves had been removed. We found that enclosures were thicker at colder sites. Removal of enclosing leaves negatively affected fruit survival and/or growth, but we could not id

SUBMITTER: Nagaoka N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7657851 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature