Plant Style Movement

Abstract:

Style movement is common in plants of Zingiberaceae, Marantaceae, Malvaceae and Passifloraceae, but their modes of style movement are different. The two phenotypic styles in Zingiberaceae move towards opposite directions at the same time. The styles of Marantaceous plants move rapidly after the trigger was touched. The stylar branches of Malvaceous plants curved downward until its stigmas touch the anthers, while in Passifloraceae, the movement of stylar branches is also downwards, but they rarely touched the anthers. The movement of styles plays important roles in their pollination and mating system.

Key words:Plant movement; Style curvature; Ecological adaptation; Movement mechanism