Anatomy of petal drop in sunflowers
Wednesday, January 14, 2015 - 14:50
in Paleontology & Archaeology
Anatomical analysis of two sunflower cultivars revealed a differentiated region at the junction of the flowers' petal and achene. Cell division at the abscission zone of the short-lived cultivar occurred earlier than in the long-lived cultivar, indicating that the tempo of development differed; the abscission layer reached full maturity sooner in Procut Bicolor, resulting in earlier petal drop, than in Procut Yellow Lite. Vase life was also correlated to flower color.