The mechanics of the grass flower: The extension of the staminal filaments and the lodicules of maize

In this paper on the flower mechanics of the grasses, the morphological and cytological processes leading to flower opening and anther exsertion are studied. At anthesis synchronous cell extension in both the lodicules and filaments open the flower and exsert the anthers, respectively. In the lodicules all the cells extend, except the vascular tissues. In the filaments extension is limited to the epidermis and one or two subepidermal cell layers, whereas the more centrally located parenchyma and the vascular tissues are disrupted. Ultrastructural aspects of the rapid vacuolations, necessary for these extensions, are studied using comparisons between TEM and high-resolution SEM. (C) 1996 Annals of Botany Company.