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Re: Indicator plants



In article <4krbos$5u8@altrade.nijmegen.inter.nl.net>, f.vd.laan@inter.nl.net (Frits v/d Laan) says:
>
>I would like to get any information about plants that are known to 
>indicate at a early stage anything to do with there environment,
>shortage or to much of nutrician N, P, K, Mg etc.  or are sensitive for
>or atract insects earlier than most plants.
>If there are databases already existing or someone knows such planttypes
>please mail them to me.
>Any free data will be posted back to these groups when there's enough
>data  collected
>
>Frits v/d Laan
>Organic horticulture


With regard to attracting insects, there is enough evidence now that plants
that are infested with herbivores attract carnivorous insects or mites. All
plant species investigated so far have shown this ability.
I am not sure that this is what you are looking for, but herbivore-infested
plants may thus be used as indicator plants for carnivorous insects in the
environment. Carnivores may discriminate between plants infested by different
herbivore species.
For more information see e.g. J. Plant Physiol. 143: 465-473 (1994).

Marcel Dicke
Wageningen Agricultural University
Marcel.Dicke@medew.ento.wau.nl



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