Obligate crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plants survive karst drought through daytime stomatal closure, which limits water loss but suspends gas exchange, raising the question of how intracellular metabolism continues under closed stomata. Using a reintroduced population of the orchid Dendrobium loddigesii shaped by 15 years of natural selection, we combined a two-season (January and April) between-population comparison with concurrent within-plant comparisons of different-aged leaves, and quantified leaf electrophysiology using an extended Hodgkin-Huxley model. Intracellular water transport rate (WTR) was highly conserved across seasons and leaf ages (overall mean 51.25, within-group CV... More >

Hailstorms cause severe mechanical damage to crops, yet their long-term legacy effects on the physiology of perennial medicinal herbs remain poorly understood. This study examined \textit{Bletilla striata} plants damaged by a severe hailstorm on April 2, 2026. On day 37 post-damage, coinciding with new pseudobulb formation, 44 electrophysiological parameters were measured in leaves of damaged plants ($n = 8$) and undamaged controls ($n = 8$) and compared using Welch's $t$-test. Damaged leaves showed a persistent ``low-resistance, high-capacitance'' pattern: inherent physiological resistance decreased to 25.0% of the control value, whereas inherent capacitance increased 5.6-fold (both $P < 0.... More >

The conservation of rare and endangered medicinal plants, such as Cremastra appendiculata, is hindered by a limited understanding of their intrinsic endangerment mechanisms. This study employed a plant vitality analyzer (model: ZT-FIA-1, Jiangsu Zhongtian Zhigan Life Data Co., Ltd., China) to systematically measure 50 electrophysiological kinetic parameters in the leaves of C. appendiculata and the fast-growing reference species Isatis tinctoria. Parameters encompassed water metabolism, nutrient transport, dielectric substance translocation, energy metabolism, and comprehensive stress resistance. Compared with I. tinctoria, C. appendiculata exhibited significantly higher intrinsic resistance... More >