Re: [Aroid-l] Chirality

From: Deni Bown <denibown at googlemail.com> on 2011.10.25 at 20:23:29(22230) Dear Ted, Thank you for this interesting observation. It's tempting to guess that it's just chance as what evolutionary advantage could right- or left-handedness be to a Crypt? Given that size, color etc. are the same, the spathe would not be held further above the water to offer visual or olfactory signals any more effectively by twisting one way or the other. But then who knows what happens at full moon! Let's have more of these intriguing observations! Deni Bown (still in Nigeria where no Crypts grow but from henceforth will be more observant with all & any aroid inflroescences) +More On 24 October 2011 18:46, Theodore Held wrote: > Dear List, > > Attached here (with luck) is a picture I made of a pair of blooms from > a Cryptocoryne griffithi (identity confirmed by Peter Boyce at the > recent IAS show). What’s interesting to me is that the outer spathe > tip (called the flag for Crypts) of the plants twists to the left for > one and to the right for the other. These plants are vegetative kin. > > I have also seen the pairing of left-handed and right-handed > inflorescences on Cryptocoryne pontederifolia. > > Has anyone ever noticed mirror-image flower forms like this with any > other aroids? In chemistry differences involving only mirror images > are referred to as chiral isomers and originate with subtle > molecular-level geometry. In normal life this is called “handedness.” > In a plant bloom, the differences may display as macroscopic > phenomena, but likely originate with early development, also perhaps > on a molecular level. > > Please enlighten me if anyone knows about this oddity. > > Ted Held. > > _______________________________________________ > Aroid-L mailing list > Aroid-L@www.gizmoworks.com > http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l > > -- DENI BOWN Consultant Flora & Medicinal Plants International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Oyo Road PMB 5320 Ibadan Nigeria D.Bown@cgiar.org Work: +234 2 7517472 ext 2520 Mobile (Nigeria) +234 806 0486022 Mobile (UK) +44 787 0345924 _______________________________________________ Aroid-L mailing list Aroid-L@www.gizmoworks.com http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l

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