New typology of seed development in late winter-flowering temperate woodland plants
Friday, May 24, 2013 - 07:30
in Paleontology & Archaeology
The welcome sight of snowdrops and daffodils coming into flower in the late winter herald the promise of spring warmth just around the corner. These plants are adapted to flower early in the year to take advantage of the limited sunlight that reaches the woodland understorey before trees come in to leaf. A consequence of this behaviour is that flowering is prolonged and seed development occurs especially slowly because of the cold temperatures.