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| Study of variegated and white flower petals of Capparis spinosa expanded at dusk in arid landscapes |
| Chrysanthi CHIMONA1, Avra STAMELLOU2, Apostolos ARGIROPOULOS1, Sophia RHIZOPOULOU1 |
1 Department of Botany, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens 15781, Greece;
2 Department of Botany, School of Biology, Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece |
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Abstract In this study, we provide the first evidence of two pairs of petals of the rapidly expanded and short-lived nocturnal flowers of Capparis spinosa L. (caper) during the prolonged drought period in Eastern Mediterranean region. The corolla of the winter-deciduous, perennial C. spinosa consists of two pairs of petals: a pair of white dis-tinct petals and a pair of connate variegated petals with green basal parts. The results indicated the presence of substantially different amounts of chlorophyll in the two pairs of petals, while their carbohydrates’ content is comparable with that of the green sepals. High resolution imaging of petal surfaces of short-lived flowers of C. spinosa, obtained by using scanning electron microscopy, revealed stomata on the adaxial epidermis on both the white and the green parts of the variegated petals; while dense hairs were found on the surface of the abaxial green parts of the variegated petals. Adaxial, epidermal cells of the variegated petals, viewed using atomic force microscopy, possess a submicron, cuticular microfolding that differs between the white and the green parts of the petals. It appears that microridges on the adaxial, white parts of petals of C. spinosa compensate for an increase in cell surface area of the short lived petals, while the roughness of the green parts of petals was found to be higher than that of the white parts. Thus, the micromorphology of surfaces of epidermal cells is expected to affect optical properties and wettability of the floral tissues. These findings may be particularly important for understanding the performance of the short-lived petals of C. spinosa, which are exposed to dryland environments.
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Received: 23 November 2011
Published: 06 June 2012
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| Fund: The research grant PENED 03174, co-funded by the European Union (75%) and the Greek General Secretary of Research and Technology and Private Sectors (25%). |
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Corresponding Authors:
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