• Premise of the study: Some floral traits could be selected by pollinators and nonpollinator agents, and studying the floral traits shaped by physical agents could reveal adaptive mechanisms to the environment. We explored the adaptive significance of the change in floral orientation, from pendulous flowers to erect fruits that have a persistent calyx, in Anisodus luridus, a perennial native to the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau (QTP).• Methods: We examined the effect of flower orientation on pollinator visitation rates, pollen deposition efficiency, pollen quantity, and pollen viability to estimate whether pendulous flowers have improved male fitness. We then measured seed production and seed germination rate to assess whether erect fruits have enhanced female fitness.• Key results: Pendulous flowers did not have any preferred pollinators or increased pollen deposition. In artificially erected flowers, the number of pollen grains greatly decreased after rainwash. Pollen germination experiments indicated that pollen damage by water and exposure to solar radiation is serious. In the persistent calyx that holds water within it, the temperature inside the calyx changed slower than in the calyx that had the water removed. After supplemental pollination, the seed number, seed set, and seed mass of fruits that had water removed from the calyx were reduced greatly in both years.• Conclusions: We conclude that the change in floral orientation could enhance male and female fitness of A. luridus and is effectively adaptive to the alpine environments, indicating a strong selection by the combined pressure from various abiotic nonpollinator agents in shaping the floral traits of this alpine plant.

Various biotic and abiotic factors are known to exert selection pressures on floral traits, but the influence of ultraviolet-B (UV-B) light on the evolution of flower structure remains relatively unexplored. We have examined the effectiveness of flower structure in blocking radiation and the effects of UV-B on pollen viability in 42 species of alpine plants in the Hengduan Mountains, China. Floral forms were categorized as either protecting or exposing pollen grains to UV-B. The floral materials of plants with exposed and protected pollen grains were able to block UV-B at similar levels. Exposure to UV-B radiation in vitro resulted in a significantly greater loss of viability in pollen from plant species with protective floral structures. The pronounced sensitivity of protected pollen to UV-B radiation was associated with the type of flower structure. These findings demonstrate that UV-B plays an important role in the evolution of protective floral forms in alpine plants.

Backgroud: The greatest contribution of the Silk Road is to communicate among different countries and nationalities, and promote two-way cultural exchanges between the East and the West. We now have clearer understanding about how material civilization and religious culture of Central Asia and West Asia spread eastward along the Land Silk Road. However, there is controversial about how crops migrate along the Land Silk Road. Results: We summarize archaeology, genetics, and genomics data to explore crop migration patterns. Of the 207 crops that were domesticated along the Land Silk Road, 19 for which genomic evidence was available were selected for discussion. Conclusions: There were conflicting lines of evidence for the domestication of Tibetan barley, mustard, lettuce, buckwheat, and chickpea. The main reasons for the conflicting results may include incomplete early knowledge, record differences in different period, sample sizes, and data analysis techniques. There was strong evidence that Tibetan barley, barley, and wheat were introduced into China before the existence of the Land Silk Road and mustard, lettuce, buckwheat, chickpea, alfalfa, walnut, cauliflower, grape, spinach, apple, cucumber, mulberry, and pea spread via trade and human migration along the Land Silk Road.