ArticleOecologia2013
Aerial roots of epiphytic orchids: the velamen radicum and its role in water and nutrient uptake.
Article in Oecologia, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 46 papers.
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Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed, 175 citations in OpenAlex.
- Anatomical drivers of organ size and trait coordinated association between pseudobulbs and roots in Dendrobium.Botanical studies · 2026Article
- Unidirectional genomic introgression facilitates the colonization of an invasive orchid in arid, metal-enriched sedimentary habitats.Plant communications · 2026Article
- An Overview of Orchidaceae from Brazil: Advances and Shortfalls After 400 Years of Studies.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Differentiation in water adaptation strategy between epiphytic and terrestrial species ofAoB PLANTS · 2025Article
- Potassium application enhances vegetative and reproductive yield of Zygopetalum maculatum and reduces post-flowering K depletion from storage organs of the orchid.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Aerial and terrestrial root habits influence the composition of the cell walls of Vanilla phaeantha (Orchidaceae).Protoplasma · 2025Article
- Identification and Characterization of thePlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Exogenous Cytokinin Induces Callus and Protocorm-Like-Bodies Formation inTropical life sciences research · 2024Article
- Probiotic model for studying rhizosphere interactions of root exudates and the functional microbiome.The ISME journal · 2024Article
- Responses of a common tropical epiphyte,AoB PLANTS · 2023Article
- Gains and losses of the epiphytic lifestyle in epidendroid orchids: review and new analyses of succulence traits.Annals of botany · 2023Article
- CAM plants: their importance in epiphyte communities and prospects with global change.Annals of botany · 2023Review
- Comparative analysis of endophyte diversity ofPlant biotechnology (Tokyo, Japan) · 2023Article
- Exo- and endophytic fungi enable rapid transfer of nutrients from ant waste to orchid tissue.The New phytologist · 2023Article
- Plant-Environment Response Pathway Regulation Uncovered by Investigating Non-Typical Legume Symbiosis and Nodulation.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Does A Velamen Radicum Effectively Protect Epiphyte Roots against Excessive Infrared Radiation?Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Morphological and Physio-Chemical Responses to PEG-Induced Water Stress inInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Structural plasticity in roots of the hemiepiphyte Vanilla phaeantha Rchb.f. (Orchidaceae): a relationship between environment and function.Die Naturwissenschaften · 2022Article
- Cyanobacterial Root Associations of Leafless Epiphytic Orchids.Microorganisms · 2022Article
- Biomimetic building facades demonstrate potential to reduce energy consumption for different building typologies in different climate zones.Clean technologies and environmental policy · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The velamen radicum, a spongy, usually multiple epidermis of the roots, which at maturity consists of dead cells, is frequently described as an important adaptation of epiphytic orchids. Yet, quantitative evidence for the alleged functions, e.g., efficient water and nutrient uptake, nutrient retention, reduction of water loss, mechanical protection, or the avoidance of overheating, is rare or missing. We tested the notion originally put forward by Went in 1940 that the velamen allows plants to capture and immobilize the first solutions arriving in a rainfall, which are the most heavily charged with nutrients. In a series of experiments, we examined whether all necessary functional characteristics are given for this scenario to be realistic under ecological conditions. First, we show that the velamen of a large number of orchid species takes up solutions within seconds, while evaporation from the velamen takes several hours. Charged ions are retained in the velamen probably due to positive and negative charges in the cell walls, while uncharged compounds are lost to the external medium. Finally, we demonstrate that nutrient uptake follows biphasic kinetics with a highly efficient, active transport system at low external concentrations. Thus, our results lend strong support to Went's hypothesis: the velamen fulfills an important function in nutrient uptake in the epiphytic habitat. Most of the other functions outlined above still await similar experimental scrutiny.
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