Caulifloria (from the Greek. Καυλός “stem, trunk” and lat. Flos, floris “flower”) - the development of trees of flowers, and then fruits directly on the trunk and thick branches. Flowers develop from sleeping buds . For the development of fruits on thick branches, a special term is used - ramifloria (from lat. Ramus "branch").
According to the suggestion of the naturalist Alfred Wallace , flowers located on the trunk below the crown are easier to find for pollinators. The fruits of such trees are also more accessible to birds and bats, which, by eating the fruit, spread the seeds. Caulifloria allows trees with very large and heavy fruits to protect thin branches that would not withstand the weight of the fruits.
Caulifloria is found in tropical plants, among which are cocoa , persimmon , durian , breadfruit , jackfruit , chedpedak and others. Among plants in central Russia, this phenomenon occurs in wolf bast and sea buckthorn .
Literature
Caulifloria - an article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia .