What is contorted aestivation ??

Question

What is contorted aestivation ??

Answer 1

Aestivation, in this sense, refers to the pattern or arrangement of the petals of the flower.  Contorted aestivation, also called twisted or convolute, is where a cross section looks like a spiral.  The end of one petal is overlapped by the start of next petal.

Answer 2

Let us divide the question in two parts =

Q. 1 ) What is aestivation ?

Ans.1 ) The word ' Aestivation ' has two meanings .

a ) In Animals it is the summer sleep ( Example frog ) . It is in contrast to Hibernation ( Winter sleep example bears )

b ) In flowering plants the arrangement of sepals ( and petals ) with relation to EACH OTHER , especially in Bud condition is called ' Aestivation '

for you it is the second definition that is valid as it is asked in Botany section and the adjective ' Contorted ' is prefixed .

Q. 2 ) What is contorted aestivation ?

Ans. 2 ) It is the type of arrangement of sepals ( or Petals ) in which every segment is partly 'inner' and partly 'outer'.

That is it is being overlapped by next petal , at the same time it also overlaps adjacent petal ( or sepal )  .

The arrangement is exactly the way one holds 'Playing Card " in one's hand .

Only difference is that aestivation is in circular form .

Best examples are petals( Corolla )  of hibiscus .

Now kindly click on the link below and concentrated your attention on diagram ' D ' only . It is of contorted aestivation=

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...

Good flowers showing that aestivation =

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tim-waters/...

http://www.theflowerexpert.com/media/ima...

http://mrsnilsen.com/__oneclick_uploads/...

From = A Botanist

Answer 3

"The manner in which the parts are arranged in the flower-bud with respect to each other before opening is the aestivation or praefloration."

"Contorted or twisted aestivation, in which the parts of the whorl are overlapped by each other in turn, and are twisted on their axis." First reference

"aestivation: the arrangement of sepals and petals or their lobes relative to one another in an unexpanded flower bud, cf. ptyxis, vernation, see cochleate, contorted, contortiplicate, crumpled, decussate, imbricate, induplicate, open, quincuncial, reduplicate, valvate."

Second reference