Abstract
During their ontogeny plants form various reproductive and distributive organs which are generally called propagules or diaspores. Typical reproductive propagules are, for example, seeds (fruits), pollen and spores, and purely vegetative propagules are, for example, bulbules, tubers and turions (bulbules of aquatic plants). Propagules serve mainly to propagate and distribute plants. In many instances they also help the plant to survive in adverse environmental conditions. Because of these tasks propagules have some typical physiological characteristics in common: (1) They usually contain large amounts of storage materials; (2) they are able to change to a more or less dehydrated condition in which metabolism is reduced to a minimum (physiological rest period); and (3) they possess, in their dehydrated condition, a high resistance to unfavourable environmental conditions, e.g. heat, cold and drought. With the onset of favourable conditions the rest period is interrupted by germination; the propagule develops into a seedling. (In the case of pollen germination the seedling is reduced to the pollen tube.)
Chapter PDF
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Further Reading
Berrie AMM (1984) Germination and dormancy. In: Wilkins MB (ed) Advanced plant physiology. Pitman, London
Bewley JD (1979) Physiological aspects of desiccation tolerance. Annu Rev Plant Physiol 30:195–238
Bewley JD, Black M (1978/1982) Physiology and biochemistry of seeds in relation to germination, vol 1 and 2. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York
Bewley JD, Black M (1985) Seeds. Physiology of development and germination. Plenum Press, New York London
Goldberg RB, Barker SJ, Perez-Grau L (1989) Regulation of gene expression during plant embryogenesis. Cell 56:149–160
Kermode AR (1990) Regulatory mechanisms involved in the transition from seed development to germination. Crit Rev Plant Sci 9:155–195
Leprince O, Hendry GAF, McKersie BD (1993) The mechanisms of desiccation tolerance in developing seeds. Seed Sci Res 3:231–246
Müntz K (1982) Seed development. In: Boulter D, Parthier B (eds) Encyclopedia of plant physiology NS, vol 14 A. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 505–558
Nooden LD, Weber JA (1978) Environmental and hormonal control of dormancy in terminal buds of plants. In: Clutter ME (ed) Dormancy and developmental arrest. Experimental analysis in plants and animals. Academic Press, New York San Francisco London, pp 221–268
Shirsat AH (1991) Control of gene expression in the developing seed. In: Grierson D (ed) Development regulation of plant gene expression. Blackie, Glasgow London, pp 153–181
Speirs J, Brady CJ (1991) Modification of gene expression in ripening fruit. Aust J Plant Physiol 18:519–532
Walbot V (1978) Control mechanisms for plant embroygeny. In: Clutter M (ed) Dormancy and developmental arrest experimental analysis in plants and animals. Academic Press, New York San Francisco London, pp 113–166
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1995 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mohr, H., Schopfer, P. (1995). Ripening and Germination of Reproductive and Distributive Organs. In: Plant Physiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-97570-7_24
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-97570-7_24
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-08196-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-97570-7
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive