Androhermaphrodites of Lychnis Alba

Authors

H. L. Dean, University of IowaFollow
Sharon K. Smith, University of Iowa

Document Type

Research

Abstract

Lychnis alba was found to produce four categories of flowers; i.e. pistillate, staminate, gynohermaphrodite and androhermaphrodite. Hermaphrodites are formed when a rudimentary pistil (pistillodium) or stamens (staminodea) develop into mature organs on the ovaries of otherwise pistillate or staminate flowers. Androhermaphrodites, in particular, were studied and their structure and behavior found to be essentially similar to corresponding parts of regular staminate and pistillate flowers. Ovaries of androhermaphrodite flowers exhibited variations in style number ranging from one to five. Ovaries with two to five styles were self- or cross-fertile with any good Lychnis alba pollen. One-styled ovaries of androhermaphrodite flowers were of unusual interest because they occurred so commonly, showed a range of development from a pistillodium to a mature ovary, and because they were characteristically self- and cross-sterile.

Publication Date

1964

Journal Title

Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science

Volume

71

Issue

1

First Page

91

Last Page

103

Copyright

©1964 Iowa Academy of Science, Inc.

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

Recommended Citation

Dean, H. L. and Smith, Sharon K. (1964) "Androhermaphrodites of Lychnis Alba," Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science, 71(1), 91-103.
Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/pias/vol71/iss1/17