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The productivity and morphology offruit and seeds were studied in 30 species (and subspecies) of the tribe Genisteae (Fabaceae) in south-west Spain. The morphological characters of greatest taxonomic value both for the segregation of the two subtribes (Genistinae and Lupitiinae) recognized in Genisteae and for the deliitation of the lower taxonomic levels (genus and species) are the size of the pod and characters of the pericarp, the colour and weight of the seeds, whether or not an a d exists, and the shape, size, and position of the hilum. In contrast, characters of little taxonomic interest are pod colour, shape and number of seeds, and characters of the lens. There were also found to be major relationships between fruit and seed, and between these and other floral (e.g. corolla size) or reproductive (e.g. polledovule [P/O] and seed/ovule [S/O] ratios) attributes. Thus in this tribe, pod size waspositively correlated with corolla size, seed size, the number of viable seeddfruit, and the S/O and P/O ratios. Corolla size was positively correlated with the number of viable seeds/ fruit and with the seed weight. Similarly, the number of seeddfruit was positively correlated with the fruit's weight and with the number of ovules/ovary. Also, the weight of the seeds was positively correlated with the pollen/ovule ratio. There was also positive correlation between the S/O and P/O ratios.

An interdisciplinary experimental investigation on the antioxidant activity of Thymbra capitata essential oil was made. This plant is a Mediterranean culinary herb, whose essential oil antioxidant power has recently been demonstrated in vitro as one of the highest in nature. We tested if this in vitro antioxidant capacity was reproducible on biological systems using as model system primary cultures of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes treated with the lipid peroxidation product 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal. The composition and the in vitro antioxidant activity of the T. capitata essential oil were also assessed. Cell viability, mitochondrial membrane potential, and reactive oxygen species level were measured in cells treated with pathophysiologic doses of 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (< 10 µM) or vehicle after being pre-incubated with small concentrations of the T. capitata essential oil, and the ability of small doses (< 40 ppm) to prevent the death of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes proved very remarkable. Long-term pre-incubation (12 h) with 20 ppm prevented 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal-induced cell death and avoided mitochondrial membrane potential loss and reactive oxygen species generation caused by 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal. A deleterious effect was shown at doses higher than 40 ppm. The results of this study pave the way to further analysis in animal models to achieve a deeper understanding of the in vivo antioxidant power of T. capitata essential oil.

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Few studies have determined the influence of acorn size on germination and predation percentage at tree level. To evaluate the seed size influence at individual tree level, trees producing two different sizes of acorn were chosen. Our results show that smaller acorns were significantly more infested (49.6-75.3%) than larger ones (11.0-27.33%). About germination, big acorns achieved the best germination percentage compared to the smaller ones (18% in infested and 76% in sound acorns for the small acorn group versus 69.3% in infested and 93.3% in sound acorns belonging to the big acorn group). We also found that there was a difference in behaviour between big and small seeds at tree level. The same size belonging to different functional groups presented a difference at the behavioural level per tree. Infested small acorns from trees 8 and 10 had only 33 and 13% germination, while big acorns from trees 2, 3, and 6 (there was no difference between both sizes) presented 67, 97, and 83%, respectively. These results indicate that the production of acorns with two different sizes could be a strategy for species regeneration, producing each size for a different purpose.