In the "Higher Education Notes" of the Austin American Statesman, there was a small paragraph concerning plant cell memory. It kind of explains why our plants don't kick into their bloom cycle just because we get a string of warm days in the winter. You can Google the link at the newspaper's website..."plant cell memory studied." Interesting study.
( I prefer to think my plants have brains, however. They tend to sulk when I forget to water them....)
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
Plants' Cell Memory Studied
University scientists have identified some of the molecular and cellular underpinnings for how plants wait until spring to bloom rather than jumping the gun during a warm spell in winter. In essence, they found that plants sort of remember going through a sufficiently long period of cold.
"Plants can't literally remember, of course, because they don't have brains," said Sibum Sung, an assistant professor of cell and developmental biology. "But they do have a cellular memory of winter, and our research provides details on how this process works."
Sung and postdoctoral fellow Jae Bok Heo, who
have published their findings in the journal Science Express, discovered that a certain RNA molecule, dubbed COLDAIR, lets a plant know that it has been through 30 or more days of cold. Further research is needed to explain how cold air activates COLDAIR.
Link to Science Daily in post below....
