The language of flowers

Abstract

The domestication of plants is often thought to apply mainly to food crops, but cultivation has also been widely used to enhance the beauty of ornamental plants. Writing in Nature Plants, Bombarely et al.1 report the genome sequences of two progenitor species of Petunia hybrida, a plant domesticated for its flowers. These genomes are a notable addition to the known sequences of members of the nightshade family (Solanaceae)2. They will enable researchers to unravel fundamental mechanisms in evolution, ecology and gene function, and will help to bring an understanding of the relationships between plant genomes closer.