Flowering during wintertime in Europe

What is it about?

Micro- and Nano-traits of petal epidermises of flowers of Chaenomeles japonica extended under environmental conditions, during the humid and cold period of the year, are presented. The outer (abaxial) and the inner (adaxial) epidermises of petals of C. japonica consist of convex and papillae cells, respectively, that are covered by epicuticular wrinkled relief further ornamented by submicron motifs, forming interfaces between floral tissues and environment. Structural epidermal features of the petal relief at the nanoscale level reveal different functionality on the two sides of the corolla. The cuticular folds of convex epidermal cells display declining water retention on the outer petal surface and the exposed side of the corolla to the environmental conditions. The cuticular folds of papillae epidermal cells increase in size the inner petal surface, in comparison with the outer surface; such traits facilitate light absorption and enhanced the contact area among folds and curvatures at the inner side of the corolla. It appears that nanometric surface structures of petals may be important adaptive features of C. japonica flowers, contributing to their performance in the field.

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Why is it important?

The deciduous shrub Chaenomeles japonica (Thunb.) Lindl. ex Spach (Japanese quince, dwarf quince and Japanese dwarf quince), assigned to Maloideae of Rosaceae family and formerly known as Pyrus japonica Thunb. , has been extensively used as an ornamental plant, being appreciated for the beauty of its flowers. C. japonica has been popular since it was introduced into western gardens from far east at the end of the eighteenth century; its densely branched flowering twigs before the unfolding of leaves were fashionable features in woodland gardens and indicative of a visible change from the floral to the vegetative growth, during humid and cold weather conditions, at a time when simultaneously flowering plant taxa are scarce.

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