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Plants may use trichomes in order to deter herbivore attacks via physical and/or chemical means, e.g. in specialized, stinging hairs of Urtica (Nettle) species that deliver inflammatory chemicals such as histamine. Studies on trichomes have been focused towards crop protection, which is the result of deterring herbivores (Brookes et al. 2016). [24]
Stiff hairs or trichomes without the ability to inject irritating compounds occur on the leaves and stems of many plants. They appear to deter feeding insects to some degree by impeding movement and restricting access to the surface of the stem or leaf. Some plants have glandular hairs, either as well as non-glandular hairs or instead of them.
Trichomes develop at a distinct phase during leaf development, under the control of two major trichome specification genes: TTG and GL1. The process may be controlled by the plant hormones gibberellins, and even if not completely controlled, gibberellins certainly have an effect on the development of the leaf hairs.
Prickles on a blackberry branch. In plant morphology, thorns, spines, and prickles, and in general spinose structures (sometimes called spinose teeth or spinose apical processes), are hard, rigid extensions or modifications of leaves, roots, stems, or buds with sharp, stiff ends, and generally serve the same function: physically defending plants against herbivory.
Datura stramonium also features leaf trichomes as a defensive trait to prevent herbivory. [42] The physiology of the plant itself is important for understanding patterns of defense as its status as an annual plant limits opportunities for biomass regrowth post-destruction, due to its inability to engage regrowth meristems. This results in the ...
Although trichomes are used for protection, they can be disadvantageous for plants at times because trichomes may reflect light away from the plant that can be used to photosynthesize. [2] The cuticle is a layered structure of waxes and hydrocarbons located on the outer layer of the epidermis which also helps protect the plant from stress. [2]
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Plant structural features such as spines, thorns and awns reduce feeding by large ungulate herbivores (e.g. kudu, impala, and goats) by restricting the herbivores' feeding rate, or by wearing down the molars. [57] Trichomes are frequently associated with lower rates of plant tissue digestion by insect herbivores. [55]