Plant Diversity ›› 1999, Vol. 21 ›› Issue (02): 1-3.

• Articles •    

Embryology of a Tibetan Medicine Halenia elliptica

XUE Chun -Ying, HE Ting- Nong, LIU Jian- Quan   

  1. Northwest Plateau Institute of Biology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810001
  • Online:1999-04-25 Published:1999-04-25

Abstract: Abstract The present paper firstly reports the development of microsporangium, male gametophyte, megas-porogenesis, female gametophyte and embryogeny of Halerda elliptica, a famous Tibetan medicine. The an-ther is tetrasporangiate and its wall development conforms to the dicotyledonous type and comprises of epider-mis, endothelium, two layers of middle cells and tapetum at the mature stage. The tapetum has dual origin and is similar to the glandular type. Cytokinesis is of the simultaneous type and microspore tetrads are mainly tetrahedral. Pollen grains are mainly 3 - celled when shed. The ovary is bicarpellate. The fused margins of two carpels enlarge and intensively protrude into the ovary locule with four lines of ovules. The ovule is unitegmic, tenuinucellate and orthotropous. The development of embryo sac is of the Polygomim type. The development of endosperm conforms to the nuclear type and the embryogeny corresponds with the Physalis I variation of Solanad type. A massive hypostase tissue exists from the 2 - nucleate embryo sac to the polycel-lar proembryo stage. Three antipodal cells persist at the mature embryo stage. The embryo is at the late glob-ular stage when seeds released from the capsule. Most embryological characters are similar when compared with other taxa in Gentianinae.

Key words: Halenia elliptica, Enbryology, Tibetan medicine