#endosperm

🌴 Scott Zona, Ph.D. 🌴

@scottzona.bsky.social

1 month ago

Photo of a page of the article showing a plate of four half-tone photos of transverse sections of palm seeds. The seeds are all of one species, but they vary from having homogeneous endosperm to deeply ruminate endosperm.

Want to read more about palms that are variable in endosperm condition, homogeneous vs. ruminate? There is an old publication on the topic: Zona, S. 2003. Endosperm condition and the paradox of Ptychococcus paradoxus. Telopea 10: 179–185. #Arecaceae #seed #endosperm #ruminate #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

🌴 Scott Zona, Ph.D. 🌴

@scottzona.bsky.social

1 month ago

Photo of the dry, brown fruit of Nypa, along with one fruit that has been cut longitudinally to show the ruminate endosperm and the seedling (Nypa is viviparous). Photo by Scott Zona CC BY-NC 2.0.

When I used a band saw to cut Nypa fruticans seeds in half, I was surprised to find ruminate endosperm. The literature said this palm has homogeneous endosperm. It turns out, it has both. Endosperm condition can vary within a species. #Arecaceae #seed #endosperm #ruminate #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

🌴 Scott Zona, Ph.D. 🌴

@scottzona.bsky.social

1 month ago

Close-up photo of small black seeds. Some seeds are cut in longitudinal section and show the ruminate endosperm and the long, thin embryo that occupies the length of the seed. Other seeds are cut in transverse section to show the ruminations and embryo. Photo by Scott Zona CC BY-NC 2.0.

Endosperm condition (homogeneous vs. ruminate) can vary within a genus. The seeds of Yucca aloifolia are clearly ruminate, but many other species of Yucca lack rumination & are homogeneous. #Asparagaceae #seed #endosperm #ruminate #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

🌴 Scott Zona, Ph.D. 🌴

@scottzona.bsky.social

1 month ago

Photo of 3 excavated seedlings of a palm. The attached seed has been sliced open to show the white endosperm and dark ruminations. Photo by Scott Zona CC BY-NC 2.0.

What is the function of ruminate endosperm? How did it evolve? Nobody knows for sure. One hypothesis: The ruminations are distasteful to seed-boring beetles & prevent them from riddling the seed. Maybe.🤷‍♂️ 📷: Adonidia merrillii. #beetles #Arecaceae #seed #endosperm #ruminate #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

🌴 Scott Zona, Ph.D. 🌴

@scottzona.bsky.social

1 month ago

Close-up photo of the seed of nutmeg, with a bit cut off to reveal the ruminate endosperm.

You might have some ruminate endosperm in your kitchen. Nutmeg is from the seed of Myristica fragrans, & that seed has ruminate endosperm. 🧵 📷: Dan Brekke CCBYNC2. #Myristicaceae #seed #endosperm #ruminate #Botany 🌾🧪🌱
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🌴 Scott Zona, Ph.D. 🌴

@scottzona.bsky.social

1 month ago

Photo of two fruits and one seed cut in transverse section. The fruits are covered with shiny, chestnut brown scales. The seed shows that narrow, finger-like streaks of the seed coat penetrate the endosperm. Photo by Scott Zona CC BY-NC 2.0.

As extraordinary & beautiful as the fruits of Raphia taedigera are, the endosperm ruminations are just as unusual: They are finger-like penetrations, quite unlike what I’ve seen in other palms. #Arecaceae #seed #endosperm #ruminate #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

🌴 Scott Zona, Ph.D. 🌴

@scottzona.bsky.social

1 month ago

Close-up photo of three large brown seeds, one cut in longitudinal section to reveal laminar ruminations throughout the endosperm. A ruler shows the seeds are nearly 2.5 cm long. Photo by Scott Zona CC BY-NC 2.0.

An endosperm is described as ruminate when it is penetrated by the seed coat. The nature of the ruminations varies somewhat across the plant kingdom. Sometimes the ruminations are plate-like or laminar, as in Asimina triloba. #Annonaceae #seed #endosperm #ruminate #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

🌴 Scott Zona, Ph.D. 🌴

@scottzona.bsky.social

1 month ago

Close-up photo of a seed that has been cut in half longitudinally. One half has the cut surface exposed (right), showing the embryo and ruminate endosperm. The other half (left) is turned to show the surface, which is dark brown and covered with tiny pits. Photo by Scott Zona CC BY-NC 2.0.

Two weeks ago, I posted this photo of Guiacum sanctum seed, which prompted a viewer to ask, What is the function of ruminate endosperm? This week, we’ll look at ruminate (not ruminant 🐄) endosperm. 🧵 #Zygophyllaceae #seed #endosperm #ruminate #Botany 🌾🧪🌱
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New Phytologist

@newphyt.bsky.social

4 months ago

The metabolic compartmentation of carbon and nitrogen assimilation in maize endosperm and its regulation by water deficit.

Metabolic compartmentation in #maize #endosperm enables efficient carbon and nitrogen assimilation.

📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
by Chen et al.

@WileyPlantSci

Charles University, Faculty of Science

@sciencecharles.bsky.social

11 months ago

Description: Growing seedlings Source: Pexels, Author: Piotrek Wilk

Hybridisation of plants with different #chromosome sets can produce a #triploid embryo - but can it survive?
The triploid block prevents #hybrids from developing due to failures in #endosperm formation. But how strong is this block, and what influences it?

🔗 academic.oup.com/jxb/advance-...

(TŽ)