Re: HYB: Quarterbreds Aril Qualities
- To: i*@egroups.com
- Subject: Re: [iris-talk] HYB: Quarterbreds Aril Qualities
- From: B* S*
- Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2000 12:28:26 -0400
>What I DO remember from that session is finding out that a signal is more
>than just a "spot pattern", that the plant cells in the signal are elongated,
>which gives some kind of texture rather than just color. I had to run out to
>my garden when I got back to do some signal v. spot differentiating! That
>was interesting.
The other day I brought some arilbred blossoms up to the lab to collect
pollen and looked at the fall surface under the dissecting microscope.
Sure enough, the cells in the signal area had much longer projections than
those not in the signal area. This gives a kind of velvety nap to the
signal. The transition across the signal border is rather gradual,
involving 5-6 rows of cells. The non-signal cells have a projection, but
it is lower and blunter. Of course, the signal cells also have a different
pigment. On some "diamond-dusted" varieties, the projections are clear
rather than pigmented, and refract the light like a tiny prism. This gives
the sparkling appearance of the petal surface in such irises (and
daylilies).
A great project for a botany student would be to do Scanning Electron
Microscope work on iris petals with different textures (glossy, velvety,
etc.) and determine what, if any, sort of cell morphology these involve.
Retrospectively it might also be possible to work out how such patterns are
inherited.
Bill Shear
Department of Biology
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampden-Sydney VA 23943
(804)223-6172
FAX (804)223-6374
email<bills@mail.hsc.edu>
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