Flowers are leakier than leaves but cheaper to build

Roddy, Adam B.; Guilliams, C. Matt; Fine, Paul V. A.; Mambelli, Stefania; Dawson, Todd E.; Simonin, Kevin A.

doi:10.1111/nph.19104

Cited by 16 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…with VPD = 1 kPa (Roddy et al 2023). Because stomatal conductance under natural conditions is likely never near its anatomically defined maximum of g s,max , this estimate of 𝜏 is likely much shorter than any 𝜏 encountered in nature.…”

Section: Data Transformations and Analysesmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…In addition to its effects on leaf photosynthetic capacity, water content is also linked to carbon economics and leaf biomechanics. The combination of low LMA and high W prop may indicate a greater reliance on a hydrostatic skeleton for biomechanical support, pattern that seems to extend also to flowers (Roddy et al 2019;An et al 2023;Roddy et al 2023). Because the leaf mesophyll is under pressure from the leaf epidermis, the biomechanical properties of the living mesophyll tissue is critical to the maintenance of a porous mesophyll capable of high rates of CO 2 diffusion (Théroux-Rancourt et al 2021).…”

Section: Coordination Among Leaf Morphological Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, at constant leaf surface conductance, increasing leaf thickness would increase leaf water content per projected leaf area but result in slower turnover of leaf water. The turnover time (𝜏, also called the leaf water residence time) is defined as the ratio of water loss to water content (see Methods) and defines how rapidly the leaf water pool is replaced (Farquhar and Cernusak 2005;Simonin et al 2013;Roddy et al 2023). Because high water content buffers physiological responses to changes in the environment, lengthy 𝜏 is indicative of non-steady state physiology that responds minimally to environmental fluctuations (Hunt and Nobel 1987).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The effects of genome size on cell size and the functional composition and morphology of leaves: a case study inRhododendron(Ericaceae)

Dastpak,

Williams,

Perkins

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Background and AimsDespite the predominance of scaling photosynthetic metabolism by two-dimensional leaf surface area, leaves are three-dimensional structures composed of multiple tissues that directly and indirectly influence photosynthetic metabolism. The structure of leaf surfaces for CO2diffusion and light transmission and the internal volume of tissues that process energy and matter work together to control rates of resource acquisition and turnover. Here we investigate the influence of cell size and packing density on resource acquisition as measured by surface conductance to CO2and water vapor and on resource turnover as measured by leaf water turnover time.MethodsWe sampled wild and cultivated congeneric species in the genusRhododendron(Ericaceae) and measured genome size, anatomical traits related to cell sizes and packing densities, and morphological traits related to water content and dry mass allocation.ResultsAmongRhododendron, anatomical traits related to cell size and morphological traits related to water content and dry mass investment varied largely orthogonally to each other, allowing for many combinations of leaf traits to exist. However, there was a strong, negative relationship between the leaf water residence time (τ) and the maximum leaf surface conductance per leaf volume (gmax,vol), both of which are influenced by cell size and cell packing densities.ConclusionsDespite leaf function being controlled by many potential combinations of leaf cell- and tissue-level traits, cell size has a pervasive effect on leaf function. Small cells allow for higher diffusion of CO2and water vapor per unit leaf volume (gmax,vol) even at constant leaf thickness, but small cells also result in shorter leaf water residence times (τ). The strong tradeoff betweengmax,voland (τ) illuminates how genome size-cell size allometry influences the fast-slow continuum of plant carbon and water economy.

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Section: Data Transformations and Analysesmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Coordination Among Leaf Morphological Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The effects of genome size on cell size and the functional composition and morphology of leaves: a case study inRhododendron(Ericaceae)

Dastpak,

Williams,

Perkins

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…There is some evidence for petals frequently being leakier than leaves. Besides the papers listed in table 1, it was shown in a recent study that petal cuticles were leakier than those of leaves in 74 out of 101 plant species investigated [34].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The cuticular wax compositions and crystal coverage of leaves and petals differ in a consistent manner between plant species

Tunstad,

Bull,

Rands

et al. 2023

Preprint

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1AbstractBoth leaves and petals are covered in a cuticle, which itself contains and is covered by, cuticular waxes. The waxes perform various roles in plants’ lives, and the cuticular composition of leaves has received much attention. To date, the cuticular composition of petals has been largely ignored. Being the outermost boundary between the plant and the environment, the cuticle is the first point of contact between a flower and a pollinator, yet we know little about how plant-pollinator interactions shape its chemical composition. Here, we investigate the general structure and composition of floral cuticular waxes by analysing the cuticular composition of leaves and petals of 49 plant species, representing 19 orders and 27 families. We show that the flowers of plants from across the phylogenetic range are nearly devoid of wax crystals, and that the total wax load of leaves in 90% of the species is higher than that of petals. The proportion of alkanes is higher, and the chain-lengths of the aliphatic compounds are shorter in petals than in leaves. We argue these differences are a result of the adaptation to the different roles leaves and petals play in plant biology.

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“…Several studies have shown that extant basal angiosperm lineages require large amounts of water to maintain flower functioning (Feild et al 2009a,b;Roddy et al 2016Roddy et al , 2018. In contrast, in monocots and eudicots, flowers probably rely on stored water to maintain turgidity and delay desiccation (Feild et al 2009b;Roddy et al 2016Roddy et al , 2019Roddy et al , 2023An et al 2023). There is limited information on the diversity of floral hydraulic structure and function in basal angiosperms and their derived clades, specifically in relation to anatomy of the pedicel xylem.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monocots and eudicots have more conservative flower water use strategies than basal angiosperms

Ke,

Zhang,

Zhang

et al. 2024

Plant Biol J

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Water balance is crucial for the growth and flowering of plants. However, the mechanisms by which flowers maintain water balance are poorly understood across different angiosperm branches. Here, we investigated 29 floral hydraulic and economic traits in 24 species from ANA grade, magnoliids, monocots, and eudicots. Our main objective was to compare differences in flower water use strategies between basal angiosperms (ANA grade and magnoliids) and derived group (monocots and eudicots). We found that basal angiosperms had richer petal stomatal density, higher pedicel hydraulic diameter, and flower mass per area, but lower pedicel vessel wall reinforcement and epidermal cell thickness compared to monocots and eudicots. We also observed significant trade‐offs and coordination among different floral traits. Floral traits associated with reproduction, such as floral longevity and size, were strongly linked with physiological and anatomical traits. Our results systematically reveal the variation in flower economic and hydraulic traits from different angiosperm branches, deepening understanding of flower water use strategies among these plant taxa. We conclude that basal angiosperms maintain water balance with high water supply, whereas monocots and eudicots maintain a more conservative water balance.

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Flowers are leakier than leaves but cheaper to build

Cited by 16 publications

References 70 publications

The effects of genome size on cell size and the functional composition and morphology of leaves: a case study inRhododendron(Ericaceae)

The effects of genome size on cell size and the functional composition and morphology of leaves: a case study inRhododendron(Ericaceae)

The cuticular wax compositions and crystal coverage of leaves and petals differ in a consistent manner between plant species

Monocots and eudicots have more conservative flower water use strategies than basal angiosperms

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