Prunus Okame (Help wanted)

HOBBYNSAI

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I realise that in the base of many leaves, there are very small sticky drops (shine in the sun). IS there a toxine that the tree produces or my tree has been affected by insects. THANKS
 

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Lutonian

Chumono
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lots of prunus species have nectar producing glands on the leaf stalks a better pic would help

Extrafloral nectaries​

See also: Myrmecophily and Plant defenses against herbivory
Extrafloral nectaries (also known as extranuptial nectaries) are specialised nectar-secreting plant glands that develop outside of flowers and are not involved in pollination, generally on the leaf or petiole (foliar nectaries) and often in relation to the leaf venation.[15][16] They are highly diverse in form, location, size, and mechanism. They have been described in virtually all above-ground plant parts—including stipules, cotyledons, fruits, and stems, among others. They range from single-celled trichomes to complex cup-like structures that may or may not be vascularized. Like floral nectaries, they consist of groups of glandular trichomes (e.g. Hibiscus spp.) or elongated secretory epidermal cells. The latter are often associated with underlying vascular tissue. They may be associated with specialised pockets (domatia), pits or raised regions (e.g. Euphorbiaceae). The leaves of some tropical eudicots (e.g. Fabaceae) and magnoliids (e.g. Piperaceae) possess pearl glands or bodies which are globular trichomes specialised to attract ants. They secrete matter that is particularly rich in carbohydrates, proteins and lipids.[15][17]


Extrafloral nectaries on the petiole of a wild cherry (Prunus avium) leaf

Extrafloral nectaries on a red stinkwood (Prunus africana) leaf

Ants on extrafloral nectaries in the lower surface of a young Drynaria quercifolia frond
While their function is not always clear, and may be related to regulation of sugars, in most cases they appear to facilitate plant insect relationships.[15] In contrast to floral nectaries, nectar produced outside the flower generally have a defensive function. The nectar attracts predatory insects which will eat both the nectar and any plant-eating insects around, thus functioning as 'bodyguards'.[18] Foraging predatory insects show a preference for plants with extrafloral nectaries, particularly some species of ants and wasps, which have been observed to defend the plants bearing them. Acacia is one example of a plant whose nectaries attract ants, which protect the plant from other insect herbivores.[15][16] Among passion flowers, for example, extrafloral nectaries prevent herbivores by attracting ants and deterring two species of butterflies from laying eggs.[19] In many carnivorous plants, extrafloral nectaries are also used to attract insect prey.[20]


Loxura atymnus butterflies and yellow crazy ants consuming nectar secreted from the extrafloral nectaries of a Spathoglottis plicata bud

Nylanderia flavipes ant visiting extrafloral nectaries of Senna
Darwin understood that extrafloral nectar "though small in quantity, is greedily sought by insects" but believed that "their visits do not in any way benefit the plant".[21] Instead, he believed that extrafloral nectaries were excretory in nature (hydathodes). Their defensive functions were first recognized by the Italian botanist Federico Delpino in his important monograph Funzione mirmecofila nel regno vegetale (1886). Delpino's study was inspired by a disagreement with Charles Darwin, with whom he corresponded regularly.[21]

Extrafloral nectaries have been reported in over 3941 species of vascular plants belonging to 745 genera and 108 families, 99.7% of which belong to flowering plants (angiosperms), comprising 1.0 to 1.8% of all known species. They are most common among eudicots, occurring in 3642 species (of 654 genera and 89 families), particularly among rosids which comprise more than half of the known occurrences. The families showing the most recorded occurrences of extrafloral nectaries are Fabaceae, with 1069 species, Passifloraceae, with 438 species, and Malvaceae, with 301 species. The genera with the most recorded occurrences are Passiflora (322 species, Passifloraceae), Inga (294 species, Fabaceae), and Acacia (204 species, Fabaceae).[17] Other genera with extrafloral nectaries include Salix (Salicaceae), Prunus (Rosaceae) and Gossypium (Malvaceae).[19]

Foliar nectaries have also been observed in 39 species of ferns belonging to seven genera and four families of Cyatheales and Polypodiales.[17] They are absent, however, in bryophytes, gymnosperms, early angiosperms, magnoliids, and members of Apiales among the eudicots.[17] Phylogenetic studies and the wide distribution of extrafloral nectaries among vascular plants point to multiple independent evolutionary origins of extrafloral nectaries in at least 457 independent lineages.[17]
 

HOBBYNSAI

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So useful info. I think its nectar... Thanks indeed.
 

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sorce

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Plant looks healthy AF.

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce
 
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