The secrets of calcicole species revealed.

Calcicole flora Calcicole species are, by definition, associated with Ca-rich habitats, but not necessarily calcareous soils. The proportion of the calcicole flora that restrict Ca uptake and transport to the shoot or accumulate Ca in specific shoot tissues is currently unknown. It is likely that these strategies are shared by other calcicole species, but there has been no comprehensive survey of adaptations in root anatomy or the partitioning of Ca among shoot cells in the calcicole flora. Greater suberization of the endodermis close to the root apex, restricting both apoplasmic transport and Ca influx to endodermal cells, is likely to account for the smaller Ca flux to the shoot of H. prostrata. [Extracted from the article]