The orchid mantis, Hymenopus coronatus, which inhabits Southeast Asia, possesses a unique flower-like characteristics, which allows the predator to ambush floral visitors as prey.
Leguminosae (also known as Fabaceae) are the third largest angiosperm family, containing over 19,500 species in ca. 765 genera, as well as one of the most economically important families.
Legumes comprise a huge diversity of morphologies and habits, including tiny annual herbs, vines, shrubs, lianas and long-lived trees.
Legumes are widely distributed around the world, and about 88% of ...
There are 4000-5000 species of parasitic plants in nature, accounting for 1% of angiosperms. Dodders (Cuscuta, Convolvulaceae) are widely distributed holoparasites, and namely, they have very little or no photosynthesis activity.
The Hengduan Mountains (HDM) biodiversity hotspot of China exhibits exceptional plant diversity (about 12,800 seed plant species are recognized), with many different alpine plants present in the subnival zone.
Carotenoids are yellow to red pigments synthesized by all photosynthetic organisms. Lutein, β-carotene, and zeaxanthin are essential carotenoids for human health, serving as provitamin A or retina pigments. Human and animals have to obtain these carotenoids from their diets.
The genus Cuscuta (common name dodder; Convolvulaceae) consists of about 200 species, which are stem parasites. Cuscuta parasites have no roots or leaves and their stems coil around host shoots to form haustoria.
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region, generally the naturally growing or native plant life, and it is a natural synthesis of family, genus, and species of plant life.
Fungi are one of the five pillars of biodiversity in the ecosystem and occupy a wide range of ecological niches.
There are increasing concerns that global biodiversity loss and species composition changes under the global change (i.e., climatic change, land use change, human disturbance etc.) will have a direct negative impact on ecosystem functioning. However, the mechanisms underpinning the biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships remain unresolved.
