Plant Secondary Metabolites as Defenses, Regulators, and Primary Metabolites: The Blurred
Functional Trichotomy | Plant Physiology | Oxford Academic Skip to Main Content Advertisement …

Ethnobotany has evolved from a discipline that largely documented the diversity of plant use
by local people to one focused on understanding how and why people select plants for a …

Lichens occur in most terrestrial ecosystems; they are often present as minor contributors,
but in some forests, drylands and tundras they can make up most of the ground layer …

The ecological function of secondary metabolites in plant defence against herbivores is well
established, but their role in plant–pollinator interactions is less obvious. Nectar is the major …

Precise allocation of limited resources between growth and defense is critical for plant
survival. In shade-intolerant species, perception of competition signals by informational …

Physiological and ecological constraints play key roles in the evolution of plant growth
patterns, especially in relation to defenses against herbivores. Phenotypic and life history …

Plants collectively produce hundreds of thousands of specialized metabolites that are not
required for growth or development. Each species has a qualitatively unique profile, with …

The degree of herbivory and the effectiveness of defenses varies widely among plant
species. Resource availability in the environment is proposed as the major determinant of …

Cyanogenic glycosides (CNglcs) are bioactive plant products derived from amino acids.
Structurally, these specialized plant compounds are characterized as α-hydroxynitriles …

The nitrogen content of a plant is only one of the many plant characteristics that are vitally
important to herbivores. However, because of its central role in all metabolic processes as …