Show Results

Question?

by  •  • 2 Comments

Click the photo to see a larger view

The picture shows a disected (extracted) bud from a bulb of ‘Electrus’ ( I was checking if there was a flower bud in a smallish offset). Obviouslty there was a flower, but what surprised me was the size of the anthers in the the flower bud  – almost, if not quite, the full size I would expect in the mature flower in 5/6  months time. I must check a few other varieties to see if this is normal – if so, why should the anthers grow to a size out of all proportion to other flower parts, at this early bud development stage? There must be a reason!  Who knows about the physiology of narcissus?
Brian Duncan

2 comments for “Question?”

  1. Hi Brian,

    I am guessing that the answer to your question about the anthers may have to do with the fact that they contain sex cells.  They probably need to be nearly developed early on.  Though proportionally large now, as we know they are proportionally small in the developed flower.

    Dave Liedlich
    Connecticut

    —–

  2. Hi Brian, I'm no botanist, but is it not just a trick of the eye, the anthers look larger because the rest of the flower is so small, thus giving the impression of being large!
    A reason for this being that the anthers develop first as they are part of a plants reproductive system.
     
    Ian

    On 16 October 2010 00:47, Brian S. Duncan < title=> wrote:

    The picture shows a disected (extracted) bud from a bulb of 'Electrus' ( I was checking if there was a flower bud in a smallish offset). Obviouslty there was a flower, but what surprised me was the size of the anthers in the the flower bud  – almost, if not quite, the full size I would expect in the mature flower in 5/6  months time. I must check a few other varieties to see if this is normal – if so, why should the anthers grow to a size out of all proportion to other flower parts, at this early bud development stage? There must be a reason!  Who knows about the physiology of narcissus?
    Brian Duncan

Comments are closed.