This species is one of perfect materials to examine the developmental mechanism of plant bract , to explore the developmental relationship between leaf and bract , as well as to study the role and essential function of bract on plant reproductive biology and ecology 该物种是研究植物苞片发育的分子机理及探讨苞片与叶片发育的相互关系的理想材料，也是探讨苞片在植物生殖生物学及生殖生态学中作用和功能的理想材料。
Differential screening for the library revealed that , 167 of 237 clones randomly selected from the library are positive and represent genes that were exclusively or intensively expressed in bract , which contain inserts ranging from 100 to 2000 bp in length . moreover , except a few clones were expressed predominantly in bract , absolute majority of subtraclive clones were expressed at low level in all checked organs , i . e . , bract , leaf and root 用地高辛标记的珙桐苞片、叶片和根的cdna做探针，与差减杂交所获得克隆的pcr产物的杂交结果表明，有少数基因在这些器官中都是大量表达，而大多数在这些器官里的表达量均很少，除苞片外，一般均检测不到，有部分基因在苞片中优势表达。
Flowers solitary and terminal , white , 10 - 14 cm in diam . , sessile ; bracts and sepals leathery , orbicular , covered with grayish silky hairs outside ; petals 8 , broadly obovate , 5 - 7 cm long , glabrous , basal 1 . 5 cm connate ; stamens in many whorls , 2 . 5 cm long , distinct , glabrous ; ovary hairy , 5 - locular , styles 2 cm long , apex 5 - lobed 花白色，单生于枝顶，直径10 - 14厘米，无柄；苞片及萼片圆形，革质，外被灰色绢毛；花瓣8 ，阔倒卵形，长5 - 7厘米，无毛，基部连生约1 . 5厘米；雄蕊多轮，长2 . 5厘米，离生，无毛；子房有毛， 5室，花柱长2厘米，先端5浅裂。
Gene population encoding proteins that involve in plant defensive reactions and adversity resistance , such as p1a5 gene encoding a non - specific lipid - transfer protein , p1b4 gene encoding a raucaffricine - o - p - d - glucosidase and p2d4 , encoding a proline - rich protein ; ( 2 ) gene populations with antagonistic effects occurred simultaneously in sprouting bract , e . g . , 如pib4基因编码的葡萄糖昔酶、 pias基因编码的植物脂肪转移蛋白、 pzd4基因编码的一种富含脯氨酸的蛋白都有参与植物的抗逆、防御或应激反应的功能八2 ）幼嫩苞片中有互为桔抗作用的基因同期表达。
