Biological Sciences Review

Nov 1999 v12 i2 p13

Page 1

The maidenhair tree.

by Fiona Cotter and Lizshaffield Cotter
COPYRIGHT 1999 Philip Allan Updates Ginkgo biloba is the sole survivor of a group of plants that have hardly changed for over 200 million years. This living fossil may not grow in its wild state anywhere, although it does grow in remote areas of China, especially around temples. It is cultivated all over the world, however, and is admired not only for its beautiful foliage, but for its remarkable tolerance to pollution. The streets of New York are lined with maidenhair trees. the inhibition removed, short becomes long. SMELLY SEEDS

The word gymnosperm means naked seed; the nakedness refers to the lack of the extra layer that flowering plants have around their seeds which makes up the carpel. But even though maidenhair seeds are not enclosed in carpels, they do have a fleshy covering. Few other gymnosperms do this -- many familiar species, such as pines, have winged seeds which are distributed by the The common name is taken from the resemblance of the wind. The often flashy coverings on seeds with fleshy leaves to those of the maidenhair fern, Adiantum capillus coats usually signify the involvement of animals in their veneris -- another horticultural favourite. The leaves of the dispersal. The flesh is the payment the animal gets for tree are, as the specific name biloba suggests, two-lobed, depositing the contents, the seed, far from the parent plant and turn a beautiful golden colour before falling in the in its own patch of fertiliser. Theres just one snag with autumn. It might surprise you, then, to learn that this plant Ginkgo seeds, however -- they stink! The rancid odour is a gymnosperm, since most of the familiar gymnosperms, results from butyric acid in the fleshy coat, and so only such as pines or Christmas trees, are evergreens. This male trees are usually cultivated. These are propagated means that they do not lose all their leaves at the end of vegetatively to make sure that only male trees line urban the summer, but have foliage built to last through harsh streets. periods. Some can even photosynthesise at temperatures well below zero. If you have ever swept up the needles SWIMMING SPERM from a Christmas tree you may have noticed how tough they are -- they have thick cuticles, sunken stomata and a The male trees look rather more like other gymnosperms compact form to minimise water loss or freezing damage. than the females -- their reproductive organs look a little Maidenhair trees, and other deciduous trees, have softer, like cones. These structures release pollen grains which broader, more elaborate foliage. This is undoubtedly more are blown by the wind to the female trees. Ripe ovules efficient at photosynthesis than pine needles, b ut can only secrete little drops of liquid (see Figure 1), to which the provide sugars for the tree during the summer months. pollen grains stick. When a pollen drop is withdrawn into the pollination chamber beneath, the pollen is pulled in Perhaps because maidenhair trees cannot take advantage with it. At this point, the pollen of the maidenhair tree of what sunshine there may be in the winter, they grow behaves very much like that of other seed plants, and more slowly than conifers. They share the ability to grow produces a pollen tube. However, instead of the tube very strong woody trunks, however, and some trees reach growing into the female and fertilising the egg cell (as over 30 metres in height. Another conspicuous feature of happens in flowering plants), Ginkgo pollen produces many conifers and Ginkgo is a clear division into long and sperm with flagella. As you will guess from their position short shoots. The little pegs left behind on larch trees (see Figure 1), they dont actually have to swim anywhere! when the leaves have fallen off are short shoots, the The fact that they have the ability to move, however, branches that bore them are long shoots. The same means that maidenhair trees have more in common with applies to Ginkgo, but the short shoots are easier to see. If ferns and other plants that lack seeds, than with most the tip of a long shoot is damaged, a short shoot can grow seed-producers. The only other group of seed plants with longer and replace the missing part. This plasticity of flagellate d sperm are the cycads -- another primitive growth is as useful to plants as the ability to regenerate group of gymnosperms. legs is to starfish. You can often see a young conifer whose top has been damaged, e.g. by frost, on which a SILVER APRICOT side branch has started to grow upwards. The familiar conifer shape, with a strong central trunk and smaller side Fertilisation starts the formation of an embryo -- protected branches, is thus restored. While the main tip, or long sho by the outer layers of the seed. The final product is a ot is present, the side or small shoots are prevented from stalked, rounded structure which is thought to have given growing. A plant growth regulator called auxin is produced rise to the name Ginkgo, from two Chinese words meaning by the tip and diffuses backwards, inhibiting lateral growth. silver apricot. Removal of the tip stops the production of auxin, and with - Reprinted with permission. Additional copying is prohibited. -

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Biological Sciences Review

Nov 1999 v12 i2 p13

Page 2

The maidenhair tree.

Although the fleshy outside smells awful, the interior (the embryo and tissue that surrounds it) is as highly nutritious for people as it is for maidenhair embryos, and is still used for food in parts of China and Japan. Rumour has it that this material makes a good cure for a hangover -- but there are more reliable claims to fame for this plant in medicine. Extracts of the leaves have been used since 2800 BC, and recent research indicates that such extracts do have beneficial properties. They may not turn back time, but they do seem to mop up free radicals in the body, preventing them from damaging cells and tissues (see BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES REVIEW, Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 21-24). Ginkgolide B has recently been synthesised and shows promise as a treatment for asthma, toxic shock, circulatory disorders and even Alzheimers disease. U THINGS TO DO/POINTS FOR DISCUSSION (1) Look for Ginkgo biloba on the Internet. There are several sites advertising health products including Higher Ideals -- a Web site full of herbal remedies. Can you think of any other gymnosperms that are used medicinally? (2) Can you think of a familiar British gymnosperm that has brightly coloured fleshy coated seeds rather than cones? This plant is dioecious, just like the maidenhair -- most familiar gymnosperms are monoecious (mono = one, oikos = house). What does dioecious mean? (3) Can you think of any familiar British conifers that are deciduous? (4) Find out which seeds or berries of gymnosperms are used in food or drink production in Britain. (5) Find out which other plants and fungi produce reproductive parts that smell horrible to humans. Why do they do this and what do you think might be attracted to Ginkgo fruits? (6) Go to a local park, botanical gardens or garden centre and see if you can tell the gymnosperms from the flowering plants just by their shape or foliage. If you find a pine try to identify the short shoots. (Answers to question 1-5 are on page 21.) Fiona Cotter and Liz Sheffield Fiona Cotter was an undergraduate studying Environmental Biology at the University of Manchester when she co-wrote this with Dr Liz Sheffield, who is the Plant Sciences Editor of BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES REVIEW and whose research interest is in plant reproduction. - Reprinted with permission. Additional copying is prohibited. (5) Rafflesia (see BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES REVIEW, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 7-9) flowers smell like rotting flesh and attract carrion flies, which carry pollen between flowers. Dung mosses (see BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES REVIEW, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 32-35) grow on dung so need their reproductive parts (spores) to reach that substrate. The capsules produce brightly coloured structures that smell like dung. These attract dung flies long after the dung has stopped smelling and so the flies carry the sticky spores to a fresh habitat. Phallus impudicus (the stink-horn fungus) produces smelly reproductive parts and the spores are distributed by flies. But ...no-one really knows what is usually attracted to Ginkgo fruits. One study carried out in China found that red-bellied squirrels and what the locals described as a catlike animal with a long thick tail, which was probably a civet, used Ginkgo fruits, The squirrels stripped off the outside but the civets, which are omnivores, were reported to eat the fruit whole. Who knows what w as attracted to the seeds 200 million years ago! ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ON PAGE 15 (1) Taxus (yew) plants yield taxol -- used in cancer treatment. (2) Taxus baccata (the British yew) has bright red arils around its seeds. (Be careful -- its poisonous!) Dioecious means two houses -- females are in a different house (different plant) from males. (3) Larix (the larch) produces whorls of quite soft, bright green foliage every spring. (4) Juniperus (juniper) berries are used to flavour gin and some dishes, pine nuts and monkey puzzle (Araucaria) seeds are also called for in a wide range of recipes.

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