Cauliflory

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Flowers of Syzygium monospermum
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Jackfruits

Cauliflory is a botanical term referring to plants that flower and fruit from their main stems or woody trunks, rather than from new growth and shoots. [1] It is rare in temperate regions but common in tropical forests. [2]

Contents

There have been several strategies to distinguish among types of cauliflory historically, including the location or age of branch where inflorescences grow, [3] whether inflorescences attach to stolons or branches, [4] and whether axillary nodes or adventitious nodes develop into reproductive tissues. [5] Cauliflory is a non-homologous phenomenon with several different sources of development and evolutionary value. [5]

The development of buds in axillary cauliflorous species occurs through either the re-use of the same position or old tissue over seasons of growth or release from dormancy. [5] In both cases, vascularization of the bud must occur from pre-existing tissue, such as the pith. [6] In Cercis canadensis, dormant buds break annually in a sympodial pattern. [5] If flowers develop adventitiously, they form similarly to epicormic tissues and may be reactive to immediate environmental conditions. In certain species of Ficus, flowers may be produced from axillary buds in young plants and change to adventitious buds later. [7]

One frequently suggested hypothesis for the evolution of cauliflory is to allow trees to be pollinated or have their seeds dispersed by animals, especially bats, that climb on trunks and sturdy limbs to feed on the nectar and fruits. [8] Some species may instead have fruit which drops from the canopy and ripen only after they reach the ground, an alternative strategy termed nonfunctionally caulicarpic fruits. [8] In Ficus, there is not an association between the evolution of cauliflory as an apomorphy and ecological associations. [4] Alternative hypotheses have focused on competition for sugar and minerals between flowers and young leaves, [9] mechanical support for larger flowers and fruits particularly in Atrocarpus and Durio , [10] and evolutionary theory built on the plant as a metapopulation and differential rates of mutations across large plant bodies. [5]

An extreme version is flagelliflory where long, whip-like branches descend from the main trunk and bear all the inflorescences. The branches grow to and along the ground and even below it. As a result, the plant or tree's flowers can appear to emerge from the soil. Examples are known mostly from the plant families Annonaceae and Moraceae such as a species of Desmopsisterriflora but also include Couroupita guianensis (Lecythidaceae) and the cactus Weberocereus tunilla (Cactaceae). [2]


Cauliflorous species

List of some species of cauliflorous plants with articles (list may be incomplete)

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bud</span> Immature or embryonic shoot

In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or embryonic shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormant condition, or it may form a shoot immediately. Buds may be specialized to develop flowers or short shoots or may have the potential for general shoot development. The term bud is also used in zoology, where it refers to an outgrowth from the body which can develop into a new individual.

<i>Ficus</i> Genus of flowering plants in the mulberry family Moraceae

Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The common fig (F. carica) is a temperate species native to southwest Asia and the Mediterranean region, which has been widely cultivated from ancient times for its fruit, also referred to as figs. The fruit of most other species are also edible though they are usually of only local economic importance or eaten as bushfood. However, they are extremely important food resources for wildlife. Figs are also of considerable cultural importance throughout the tropics, both as objects of worship and for their many practical uses.

<i>Theobroma cacao</i> Species of tree grown for its seeds

Theobroma cacao is a small evergreen tree in the family Malvaceae. Its seeds, cocoa beans, are used to make chocolate liquor, cocoa solids, cocoa butter and chocolate. Although the tree is native to the tropics of the Americas, the largest producer of cocoa beans in 2022 was Ivory Coast. The plant's leaves are alternate, entire, unlobed, 10–50 cm (4–20 in) long and 5–10 cm (2–4 in) broad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inflorescence</span> Term used in botany to describe a cluster of flowers

An inflorescence, in a flowering plant, is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a main axis (peduncle) and by the timing of its flowering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malvaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao, roselle and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ornamentals, such as Alcea (hollyhock), Malva (mallow), and Tilia. The genera with the largest numbers of species include Hibiscus, Pavonia, Sida, Ayenia, Dombeya, and Sterculia.

<i>Cercis</i> Genus of flowering plants in the bean family Fabaceae

Cercis is a genus of about 10 species in the subfamily Cercidoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. It contains small deciduous trees or large shrubs commonly known as redbuds in the USA. They are characterised by simple, rounded to heart-shaped leaves and pinkish-red flowers borne in the early spring on bare leafless shoots, on both branches and trunk ("cauliflory"). The genus contains ten species, native to warm temperate regions of North America, southern Europe, western and central Asia, and China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annonaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

The Annonaceae are a family of flowering plants consisting of trees, shrubs, or rarely lianas commonly known as the custard apple family or soursop family. With 108 accepted genera and about 2400 known species, it is the largest family in the Magnoliales. Several genera produce edible fruit, most notably Annona, Anonidium, Asimina, Rollinia, and Uvaria. Its type genus is Annona. The family is concentrated in the tropics, with few species found in temperate regions. About 900 species are Neotropical, 450 are Afrotropical, and the remaining are Indomalayan.

<i>Ficus benjamina</i> Species of fig

Ficus benjamina, commonly known as weeping fig, benjamin fig or ficus tree, and often sold in stores as just ficus, is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae, native to Asia and Australia. It is the official tree of Bangkok. The species is also naturalized in the West Indies and in the states of Florida and Arizona in the United States. Its small fruit are favored by some birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kohekohe</span> Species of tree

Kohekohe is a medium-sized tree in the Meliaceae family, native to New Zealand. It is found in lowland and coastal forests throughout most of the North Island and also occurs in the Marlborough Sounds in the north of the South Island. Mature trees grow up to 15 metres (49 ft) in height, with a trunk up to a metre in diameter.

<i>Cercis siliquastrum</i> Species of tree

Cercis siliquastrum, commonly known as the Judas tree or Judas-tree, is a small deciduous tree in the flowering plant family Fabaceae which is noted for its prolific display of deep pink flowers in spring. It is native to Southern Europe and Western Asia.

This page provides a glossary of plant morphology. Botanists and other biologists who study plant morphology use a number of different terms to classify and identify plant organs and parts that can be observed using no more than a handheld magnifying lens. This page provides help in understanding the numerous other pages describing plants by their various taxa. The accompanying page—Plant morphology—provides an overview of the science of the external form of plants. There is also an alphabetical list: Glossary of botanical terms. In contrast, this page deals with botanical terms in a systematic manner, with some illustrations, and organized by plant anatomy and function in plant physiology.

<i>Uvariopsis</i> Genus of flowering plants

Uvariopsis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Annonaceae. The genus is unique to Africa, and consists of about 18 species, all of which are either ramiflorous, cauliflorous or both.

<i>Ficus aurea</i> Species of strangler fig

Ficus aurea, commonly known as the Florida strangler fig, golden fig, or higuerón, is a tree in the family Moraceae that is native to the U.S. state of Florida, the northern and western Caribbean, southern Mexico and Central America south to Panama. The specific epithet aurea was applied by English botanist Thomas Nuttall who described the species in 1846.

<i>Sphenarches anisodactylus</i> Species of plume moth

Sphenarches anisodactylus, commonly known as the geranium plume moth, is a species of moth in the family Pterophoridae. It is found in western Africa, Madagascar, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Japan, the New Hebrides and Central and South America, as well as Australia, where it has been recorded from Cape York to central New South Wales. It is found in the United States, where it has been recorded from Florida, as well as Mississippi. It is also present in the Kermadec Islands of New Zealand.

<i>Dendrophthoe falcata</i> Species of mistletoe

Dendrophthoe falcata is one of the hemiparasitic plants that belong to the mistletoe family Loranthaceae. It is the most common of all the mistletoes that occur in India. At the moment reports say that it has around 401 plant hosts. The genus Dendrophthoe comprises about 31 species spread across tropical Africa, Asia, and Australia among which 7 species are found in India.

Uvariopsis korupensis is a species of flowering plant in the family Annonaceae endemic to Cameroon.

<i>Sapranthus palanga</i> Species of tree

Sapranthus palanga, commonly known as palanca, is a species of cauliflorous tree in the family Annonaceae, native to the tropical regions of Central America, especially Costa Rica.

<i>Uvariopsis dicaprio</i> Species of tropical evergreen tree

Uvariopsis dicaprio is a species of tropical evergreen tree in the genus Uvariopsis. It is endemic to the Ebo Forest, in the Littoral Region of Cameroon. It was the first new plant species described in 2022, and was named after American actor Leonardo DiCaprio by botanists Martin Cheek and George Gosline, from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. U. dicaprio is classified as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List.

<i>Uvariopsis congensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Uvariopsis congensis is a species of plant in the Annonaceae family. It is native to Angola, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, Zambia. Walter Robyns and Jean Ghesquière, the botanists who first formally described the species, named it after the Belgian Congo, now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the specimen they examined was collected in the town of Kisantu near the Inkisi River.

Diospyros cauliflora is a tree in the family Ebenaceae. The specific epithet cauliflora means cauliflorous, i.e. flowers growing directly from the trunk or branches.

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