Individual plants can produce leaves that differ substantially in size, morphology and many other traits. However, leaves that play a specific role in reproduction have rarely been reported. Here, we report leaves specialized to enclose fruit clusters and enhance seed production in an annual vine, Schizopepon bryoniifolius. Enclosure leaves were produced at the end of the growing season in late autumn. They were different in greenness and structure from other leaves. Under solar radiation, the ambient temperature inside an intact enclosure was up to 4.6°C higher than that near a fruit cluster whose enclosure leaves had been removed. We found that enclosures were thicker at colder sites. Removal of enclosing leaves negatively affected fruit survival and/or growth, but we could not identify the exact mechanism. The results suggested that enclosures allow the plant to produce seeds under the cold weather the plant encounters at the end of its life. Vegetative and reproductive traits of plants have usually been studied separately. This study indicates how they can dynamically interact, as shown by an examination of associations among leaf and reproductive trait changes according to life stages.

中文翻译：

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绿色温室：用于雄性雌雄异株藤本植物 Schizopepon bryoniifolius 果实发育的叶罩

单个植物可以产生大小、形态和许多其他性状显着不同的叶子。然而，在繁殖中发挥特定作用的叶子却很少被报道。在这里，我们报告了一年生藤本植物 Schizopepon bryoniifolius 的叶子专门用于包围果簇并提高种子产量。围叶在深秋生长季节结束时产生。它们的绿色度和结构与其他叶子不同。在太阳辐射下，完整外壳内的环境温度比外壳叶子被移除的果串附近高出 4.6°C。我们发现较冷地点的外壳更厚。去除封闭的叶子会对果实的存活和/或生长产生负面影响，但我们无法确定确切的机制。结果表明，围栏可以让植物在生命末期遇到的寒冷天气下产生种子。植物的营养性状和繁殖性状通常是分开研究的。这项研究表明了它们如何动态地相互作用，正如根据生命阶段对叶子和生殖性状变化之间的关联进行的检查所示。