OBSERVATION OF FLORAL DEVELOPMENT IN FREESIA AT DIFFERENT TEMPERATURES BY SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY

Dutch grown Freesia ‘Elegance’ size 5 corms were potted and chilled at 10 and 15°C, in the dark, after a dormancy breaking period of 3 months at 30°C. Stages of floral development were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Meristems were isolated under a dissecting microscope and were directly observed by SEM without dehydration and sputter coating.

At 10°C, shoot apical meristems reached the reproductive stage after three weeks of chilling.
The period from planting till the reproductive stage and till the end of flower formation was shorter at 10 than at 15°C. The inner bract and stamen primordia were initiated successively.
Inflorescence shape was different at 10 and 15°C. Larger bracts developed at 10 than at 15°C, and the number of florets at 15° was greater than at 10°C.

VII International Symposium on Flowerbulbs

T. Motozu, Y. Takatsu

SEM, Freesia x hybrida, meristem, flower initiation, inflorescence

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1997.430.22