Ovule number and seed weight in the genus Allium L.

Ovule number and seed weight in the genus Allium L.

Hanelt, P. Book author
Hammer, K. Book author
Knupffer, H. Book author

Gatersleben Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research Germany

1992

p.99-105

SB339.A4H3

The majority of Allium species possesses two ovules in each of the three ovary locules and normally six seeds are released from the mature capsule. This is true for the taxa of the subgenera Rhizirideum, Allium, Amerallium and Bromatorrhiza. However a few species of Bromatorrhiza and those ones from sect. Anguinum (Rhizirideum) have uni-ovulate locules. An increase of ovule and seed number is a characteristic feature for members of subgen. Melanocrommyum (and the oligotypic subgen, Caloscordum), an average of 4.7 ovules/locule had been calculated (varying from two to eight ovules). Allium ursinum (sect. Aretoprasum, subgen, Amerallium) develops likewise two ovules but only one seed per locule, one ovule regularly degenerating during fruit development. Seed weight (measured as thousand-kernel-weight, TKW, in g) is much more variable in the genus than ovule number. A ratio of 1:26 could be calculated between the lowest resp. highest values of TKW; this character proved to be taxonomically very useful. Most of the subgenera can be distinguished by their mean TKWs; subgen. Melanocrommyum is characterized once more by rather high values (in the mean 4.84 g) whereas subgen. Rhizirideum and especially subgen. Allium have very light seeds. Most variable in this regard seems to be subgen, Amerallium. Some deviating high TKWs may be related to the occurrence of those species in stable forest communities where large seeds are a common feature of their components. About 150 species had been examined for their ovuel numbers, and more than 100 species for TKW. The results agree extremely well with some data already earlier published by other authors, especially with a paper by Ceremuskina et al.(1990). [AS]

The genus Allium - taxonomic problems and genetic resources; Proceedings of

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