The Siluro-Devonian primary radiation of land biotas is the terrestrial equivalent of the much-debated Cambrian "explosion" of marine faunas. Both show the hallmarks of novelty radiations (phenotypic diversity increases much more rapidly than species diversity across an ecologically undersaturated and thus low-competition landscape), and both ended with the formation of evolutionary and ecological frameworks analogous to those of modem ecosystems. Profound improvements in understanding early land plant evolution reflect recent liberations from several research constraints: Cladistic techniques plus DNA sequence data from extant relatives have prompted revolutionary reinterpretations of land plant phylogeny, and thus of systematics and character-state acquisition patterns. Biomechanical and physiological experimental techniques developed for extant 263 0066-4162/98/1120-0263$08.00 264 BATEMAN ET AL plants have been extrapolated to fossil species, with interpretations both aided and complicated by the recent knowledge that global landmass positions, currents, climates, and atmospheric compositions have been profoundly variable (and thus nonuniformitarian) through the Phanerozoic. Combining phylogenetic and paleoecological data offers potential insights into the identity and function of key innovations, though current evidence suggests the importance of accumulating within lineages a critical mass of phenotypic character. Challenges to further progress include the lack of sequence data and paucity of phenotypic features among the early land plant clades, and a fossil record still inadequate to date accurately certain crucial evolutionary and ecological events.

SummaryTrees, shrubs, lianas and herbs have widely different mechanical architectures, which can also vary phenotypically with the environment. This review investigates how environmental effects, particularly mechanical perturbation, can influence biomechanical development in self-supporting and climbing growth forms. The bifacial vascular cambium is discussed in terms of its significance to growth form variation, ecology and evolution among extant plants, and during its appearance and early evolution. A key aspect of this developmental innovation concerned its potential for architectural and mechanical variation in response to environmental effects as well as optimizing hydraulic supply before the appearance of laminate leaves. Growth form diversity and its importance to past and present ecosystems are discussed in relation to both evolutionary constraints and ecological factors such as climatic change and atmospheric CO 2 concentrations. We discuss how widely ranging growth forms such as climbers show a large range of developmental and phenotypic variation that has much to offer in understanding how the environment can modify plant development, particularly in terms of the bifacial vascular cambium. The broad approach we propose would benefit a wide range of studies from research into wood development to long-term ecological censuses of today's potentially changing ecosystems.New Phytologist (2005) 166 : 61-72 © New Phytologist (2005)

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Summary Several epidermal microstructures characterize surfaces of pitcher plants and are presumably involved in their trapping function. Here we report the effects of Nepenthes alata surfaces on insect locomotion and trapping efficiency. The architectural designs of pitcher surfaces were characterized using scanning electron microscopy. Two insect species – fruitfly (Drosophila melanogaster) and ant (Iridomyrmex humilis) – were tested for their ability to remain and walk on them. The relative contributions of various epidermal structures to trapping ability were quantified. Pitchers were very effective traps for both insect species. They were slightly more efficient in capturing the ants, but slightly more effective in retaining captured flies. Trapping efficiency was attributed to the combined effects of several surfaces displaying different functions. The waxy zone played a key role in the slippery syndrome: in addition to the wax itself, the subjacent layer of convex lunate cells interfered considerably with insect locomotion. The unsubmersed glandular zone displayed an important retentive effect and secretions of the digestive glands are suspected to be adhesive. Pad performances of the hairy and smooth system of attachment are discussed to explain the differences between the two insect species. This study aims to encourage biomechanical studies of plant–insect surface mechanisms.

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Plant and animal biomechanists have much in common. Although their frame of reference differs, they think about the natural world in similar ways. While researchers studying animals might explore airflow around flapping wings, the actuation of muscles in arms and legs, or the material properties of spider silk, researchers studying plants might explore the flow of water around fluttering seaweeds, the grasping ability of climbing vines, or the material properties of wood. Here we summarize recent studies of plant biomechanics highlighting several current research themes in the field: expulsion of high-speed reproductive projectiles, generation of slow movements by shrinking and swelling cell walls, effects of ontogenetic shifts in mechanical properties of stems, flexible reconfiguration and material properties of seaweeds under crashing waves, and the development of botanically-inspired commercial products. Our hope is that this synopsis will resonate with both plant and animal biologists, encourage cross-pollination across disciplines, and promote fruitful interdisciplinary collaborations in the future.

The study suggests that delayed development of key primary developmental features of the stem in this ecotype of Arabidopsis results in a 'short and flexible' rather than a 'short and rigid' strategy for maintaining upright axes in conditions of severe mechanical perturbation. The mechanism is comparable with more general phenomena in plants where changes in developmental rate can significantly affect the overall growth form of the plant in both ecological and evolutionary contexts.