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Annals of Botany

@annbot.bsky.social
5.5K followers 1.4K following 3.5K posts

International journal publishing novel and rigorous research in all areas of plant science, managed by the Annals of Botany Company, a not-for-profit educational charity.

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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 3h
♻️🆓: New beginnings for dead ends: polyploidy, -SSE models and the dead-end hypothesis doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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New beginnings for dead ends: polyploidy, -SSE models and the dead-end hypothesis
AbstractBackground. Since the mid-20th century, it has been argued by some that the transition from diploidy to polyploidy is an ‘evolutionary dead end’ in
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 18h
♻️🆓: Centromere drive may propel the evolution of chromosome and genome size in plants doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
✅📄Now Free Access: The evolutionary dynamics of plant mating systems: how bias for studying ‘interesting’ plant reproductive systems could backfire Get the Paper: doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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The evolutionary dynamics of plant mating systems: how bias for studying ‘interesting’ plant reproductive systems could backfire
AbstractBackground and Aims. An ‘abominable mystery’: angiosperm sexual systems have been a source of both interest and frustration for the botanical commu
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
🎉🆕📰🎉: The presence and strength of post-pollination barriers in an orchid lineage that lacks pollinator specialization doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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The presence and strength of post-pollination barriers in an orchid lineage that lacks pollinator specialization
AbstractBackground and Aims. Post-pollination pre-zygotic barriers involve interactions between the pollen, pistil and ovules that impede fertilization by
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
♻️🆓: Early overyielding in a mixed deciduous forest is driven by both above- and below-ground species-specific acclimatization doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
🔥ADVANCE ACCESS🔥: The positive compound leaf–drought association is shrub specific in Chinese forests doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
🎉🆕📰🎉: Integrated multi-omics analysis reveals how PdMYB44 enhances drought tolerance in Pugionium dolabratum by activating the ascorbate–glutathione cycle doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
📩 Stay connected with @annbot.bsky.social ! 🌿Sign up for our quarterly newsletter and get updates on call for papers, special sssues, author profiles and more! 👉Click on the link and subscribe botany.fyi/join-aob
Green flyer with text: ‘Join the Annals of Botany Newsletter.’ A QR code and link (https://botany.fyi/join-aob) are shown in the center. Illustrated pink flowers are on the bottom left and yellow flowers on the bottom right. Logos of Annals of Botany and The Annals of Botany Company appear at the bottom.
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
🎉🆕📰🎉: A standardized protocol and basic ecological findings to include charophytes in functional trait studies doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
🎉🆕📰🎉: Regulatory control of orchestrated silk elongation moderated by sugar metabolism, phytohormone signalling and secondary metabolite dynamics doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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AbstractBackground and Aims. As the stigma of the female flower in maize, silks emerge sequentially from ear base to apex, potentially causing a barren ear
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
🌾 Understanding grassy biomes as ancient, diverse ecosystems, not simply forests waiting to return, can change how we approach their conservation and management. (7/7) 👉 doi.org/rrph #PlantScience #AoBpapers #GrassyBiomes #GrasslandEcology #PlantEcology #FireEcology #Biodiversity
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
🐘 The evolution of grasses transformed ecosystems by creating new interactions between plants, grazing mammals and fire. But human-driven changes, including the loss of large mammals, livestock grazing and altered fire regimes, are now reshaping grassy biomes. (6/7)
Figure showing semi-arid savannas dominated by animal consumers – ‘brown world’ ecosystems. Grasses are grazed short preventing fires from spreading. Woody plants are dominated by spiny species that reduce browsing losses by slowing browser intake rates. (A) Marakele Park, South Africa, with white rhinoceros,
a megaherbivore grazer. (B) Madumalai Park, India.
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
🌳 This matters for a major conservation question: which grassy ecosystems could potentially support more trees and store more carbon? There is still considerable uncertainty around how to predict potential tree biomass, particularly when fire and herbivory are not fully considered. (5/7)
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
🔥 Fire and herbivory are not simply threats to grassy biomes. In many systems, they are part of what maintains them. The interaction between disturbance and environmental conditions helps determine whether landscapes support open vegetation or forests. (4/7)
Figure showing how tropical forests and grassy biomes are shaped by a combination of environmental conditions and disturbance. Where trees can grow well and disturbances such as fire are limited, dense forests can develop. In open grassy biomes, the number of trees varies depending on how well trees can grow and how often and intensely the vegetation is disturbed by fire or herbivores. Grasslands occur where conditions make it difficult for trees to survive, such as in areas with very shallow soils. Some landscapes can shift between more forested and more open vegetation as environmental conditions and disturbance regimes change. Adapted from Buisson et al. (2019, fig. 2).
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
🌱 Unlike forests, grassy biomes occur across a wide range of climates and soils. Their plants are often adapted to high light and frequent disturbance, including fire and mammalian herbivory. These ecosystems can be rich in herbaceous species and specialised plant traits. (3/7)
Figure showing examples of tropical grassy biomes in landscapes that also support closed forests. The grassy biomes in these examples are mostly maintained by frequent grass fires – ‘black world ecosystems’. (A) Aerial view of grassland–savanna–forest mosaic, Hluhluwe, South Africa. (B) Ground view of the Hluhluwe landscape. (C) Forest–savanna mosaic in Gabon. (D) Drakensberg mountains, South Africa. (E) Grassland with forest in the valley,
Madagascar. (F) Forest margin after grass fire with negligible damage to trees, Madagascar.
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
🌿 Grasslands and savannas are often seen as degraded or secondary vegetation. But many tropical grassy biomes are ancient ecosystems with their own distinctive and diverse plant communities. This review explores how they formed, persist and are changing. (2/7)
Figure showing grassy biomes, defined by a dominance of grass in the understorey, not tree density. The grasses are intolerant of shade and dominated by C4
grasses in TGBs. (A) A tropical savanna with shade-intolerant tall C4 grass cover despite dense trees. (B) A closed forest with negligible grass cover in the
understorey. Both ecosystems from Western Ghats, India
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
🌾Today, we remember the remarkable legacy of William Bond by highlighting his final contribution published in Annals of Botany: "New perspectives on tropical grassy biomes and the trophic consequences of the evolution of grass" (1/7) 👉 doi.org/rrph #PlantScience #AoBpapers #GrassyBiomes
Promotional graphic from Annals of Botany. White text on a brown banner reads "New perspectives on tropical grassy biomes and the trophic consequences of the evolution of grass – William Bond." Beneath it is a photo of a mud-coated rhinoceros with small birds on its back, feeding in dry golden grassland dotted with green shrubs and backed by flat-topped acacia trees. In the lower right, William Bond, an older man with grey-brown hair wearing a navy sweater over a light blue collared shirt, smiles at the camera.
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
♻️🆓: Untangling poikilohydry and desiccation tolerance: evolutionary and macroecological drivers in ferns doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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Untangling poikilohydry and desiccation tolerance: evolutionary and macroecological drivers in ferns
AbstractBackground and Aims. Poikilohydry describes the inability of plants to internally regulate their water content (hydroregulation), whereas desiccati
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
🎉🆕📰🎉: Tonoplast sugar transporter PtTST1.1 promotes shoot growth and wood production through modulating sugar metabolism in Shanxin Yang (Populus davidiana × Populus bolleana) doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
✅📄Now Free Access: The effects of soil micro-environment on the adaptation of Cynodon dactylon (L.) Persoon in a copper smelter’s slag dump Get the Paper: doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
🎉🆕📰🎉: An optimization of freehand sectioning of fine roots using fluorescence microscopy doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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An optimization of freehand sectioning of fine roots using fluorescence microscopy
AbstractBackground and Aims. High-quality histological sections are crucial for observing plant structures. However, traditional procedures involving fixat
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
🔥ADVANCE ACCESS🔥: Plastome convergence across endoparasitic plant lineages: genome reduction, high AT bias, elevated substitution rates and functional persistence in Mitrastemon yamamotoi doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
🔥ADVANCE ACCESS🔥: Leaf anatomical traits support classification of Galphimioid clades in Malpighiaceae doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
🔥ADVANCE ACCESS🔥: Untargeted metabolic analysis reveals intraspecific and organ-specific chemodiversity in Solanum dulcamara doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
🎉🆕📰🎉: A tale of two lineages: comparative biogeography across the Southern Cone of two South American Carex (Cyperaceae) groups doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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A tale of two lineages: comparative biogeography across the Southern Cone of two South American Carex (Cyperaceae) groups
AbstractBackground and Aims. The Carex phalaroides group and Carex sect. Bracteosellae are two species complexes that exhibit similar distribution patterns
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
♻️🆓: Temporal turnover of Ceratobasidiaceae orchid mycorrhizal fungal communities with ontogenetic and phenological development in Prasophyllum (Orchidaceae) doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
🌸 The results suggest that A. lutea and A. paucinervis use female-specific volatiles to deceive male flies.If these compounds are confirmed as female sex pheromones, this could be the first documented case of sex-pheromone mimicry outside orchids. 6/6 👉 doi.org/rq8k
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
🪰💨 Field experiments supported the idea. Synthetic mixtures resembling the floral scents attracted male Megaselia pollinators, but did not attract females. (5/6)
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
🔬 The flowers produced several short-chain, methyl-branched compounds that also occur specifically in female phorid flies. This chemical overlap suggested that the plants could be imitating signals associated with female flies. (4/6)
The researchers used chemical analyses to identify two previously unknown compounds in the flowers’ scent. They synthesised the compounds in the laboratory and compared different forms of each molecule with those found naturally in the flowers, revealing their precise chemical structures.
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
🌿Researchers studied Aristolochia lutea and A. paucinervis, both pollinated mainly by male phorid flies, especially Megaselia. They analysed floral scents and female-specific fly volatiles to find out what attracts the males. (3/6)
Two Aristolochia species and their pollinators.
The images show Aristolochia lutea (left) and A. paucinervis (right), including their natural habitats, flowers and the small flies that pollinate them. The flies carry pollen on bristles on their bodies as they move between flowers.
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
🪰 Some flowers don’t offer a reward to pollinators; they trick them into visiting. This new study of Mediterranean Aristolochia suggests that two species may be taking deception a step further: mimicking the chemical signals of female flies. (2/6)
Fieldwork on Aristolochia lutea was carried out in northern Italy and Croatia, while A. paucinervis was studied in southern Spain. Additional experiments were conducted at the Botanical Garden of the University of Salzburg, Austria.
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
🪰🌿🧪 Join us to learn about the newly published article “Deceptive Aristolochia trap-flowers pollinated by male phorid flies mimic volatiles specific to female phorids” in @annbot.bsky.social by Thomas Rupp and co-authors.🧵(1/6) 👉 doi.org/rq8k #AoBpapers #PlantScience
Deceptive Aristolochia trap-flowers pollinated by male phorid flies mimic volatiles specific to female phorids
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
🎉🆕📰🎉: In situ evaluation of artificial selection and assisted gene flow for the advancement of flowering onset in Lupinus angustifolius L. (Fabaceae) doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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AbstractBackground and Aims. Artificial selection and assisted gene flow represent promising conservation strategies for enhancing the adaptive capacity of
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
✅📄Now Free Access: Elevational variation in trichomes of the alpine subnival woolly plant Eriophyton wallichii: abiotic and biotic correlates and impacts on other traits Get the Paper: doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
🎉🆕📰🎉: Densely packed needles along the shoots of evergreen conifers exhibit shade-acclimated photosynthetic characteristics even under full sunlight doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
🔥ADVANCE ACCESS🔥: Beyond Growth Limitation: Rethinking Carbon Dynamics at the Alpine Treeline. A commentary on “Carbon reserves are negatively associated with relative tree height at the elevational treeline ecotone” doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
🎉🆕📰🎉: Warming effects on floral volatile organic compounds and plant–pollinator interactions in tropical ecosystems doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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Warming effects on floral volatile organic compounds and plant–pollinator interactions in tropical ecosystems
Abstract. Climate warming increasingly disrupts plant–pollinator interactions through changes in floral chemical cues, particularly volatile organic compou
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
🎉🆕📰🎉: Integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis reveals that SiGPX1 enhances saline-alkali tolerance in foxtail millet through the glutathione metabolism pathway doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
🔥ADVANCE ACCESS🔥: Beyond elevation: climate, geography, and the diversification of Himalayan Rhododendrons. A commentary on ‘Phenotypic and genetic variation among Rhododendron arboreum species complex widely distributed throughout the Himalayas...’ doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
🎉🆕📰🎉: Soil microbiota promote the success of the perennial legume Lupinus polyphyllus more strongly in invasive than in native populations doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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Soil microbiota promote the success of the perennial legume Lupinus polyphyllus more strongly in invasive than in native populations
AbstractBackground and Aims. Geographical variation in soil microbial communities can give rise to differences in the performance and competitive abilities
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
✅📄Now Free Access: Plants originating from more extreme biomes have improved leaf thermoregulation Get the Paper: doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
🔥ADVANCE ACCESS🔥: An assessment of the suitability of current evidence on European wild seaweed ecosystems for blue carbon accounting doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The study provides new insight into pollinator-mediated selection in deceptive orchids. (8/8) 👉 doi.org/rqtx #PlantPollination #Orchidaceae #FloralEcology #PollinatorEcology #PlantEvolution #PlantScience #Botany #AoBpapers
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
🔎 The results show how floral traits can influence different components of reproductive performance, and how this relationship becomes especially interesting when a flower has two anthers. (7/8)
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
🌸 There is another layer of complexity: these orchids have two anthers. Removing both pollen smears requires at least two pollinator visits.The highest performance, two pollen removals & one deposition (2♂/1♀), was particularly associated with variation in floral traits. 6/8
Figure showin the floral structure and pollination performance in Phragmipedium vittatum. (A–B) Flower viewed from the front and side. (C) Longitudinal view showing the path followed by the pollinator (red dashed line). (D–E) Close-up views of the flower’s reproductive structures. (F) Different combinations of pollen removal and deposition, showing the range of male and female pollination performance. Arrows indicate increasing performance.
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
🌿 The researchers found that larger and taller flowers had higher male and female pollination performance. In other words, floral traits associated with greater visual attraction were linked to both pollen removal and pollen deposition. (5/8)
Figure showing factors influencing pollination performance in Phragmipedium vittatum. The graphs show how year, flower volume and flower height were related to the probability of different types of pollination performance: overall pollen removal (A–C), one pollen removal (E–G), two pollen removals (I–K), and pollen deposition (M–O). Points show observed values, while lines and shaded areas show model estimates and their 95% confidence intervals. Non-significant results are marked “n.s.” (see Table 1). Venn diagrams (D, H, L, P) show the unique and shared contributions of significant predictors to the variation explained by each model.
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
🪰 This orchid has an unusual pollination system. It is pollinated by hoverflies and mimics an oviposition site by resembling aphids, an example of floral deception that helps attract pollinators without offering a reward. (4/8)
Hoverfly. Credits: João Cardoso
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
🔬 Across two flowering seasons, researchers measured flower size and height and recorded two aspects of pollination performance: pollen smear removal (male function) and pollen deposition (female function). (3/8)
Figure showing: (C) Phragmipedium vittatum plants growing in a wetland, showing variation in flower size and height. (D) Flowers of P. vittatum. (E) Three hoverflies (Dioprosopa clavata) visiting the same flower at the same time (arrows), showing that flowers can receive multiple visits. (F) A hoverfly leaving the flower after picking up pollen. (G) Allograpta exotica carrying pollen from P. vittatum on its back. (H) D. clavata visiting a nearby Xyris flower.
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
🌸 What makes an orchid flower more successful at attracting pollinators? A new study of the threatened orchid Phragmipedium explores how flower size and height influence both pollen removal and deposition. (2/8)
Flower size measurement.
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
🎉 Good news! The paper ‘The reproductive multiverse of diandrous orchids: two anthers offer new perspectives on the role of floral traits’ in @annbot.bsky.social by João Cardoso and co-authors is now #free for 2 weeks 🧵(1/8) 👉 doi.org/rqtx #AoBpapers #PlantScience
The reproductive multiverse of diandrous orchids: two anthers offer new perspectives on the role of floral traits
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