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Embryology of Pecea Glauca (Moench) Voss

In a tree improvement program, it is important to understand the morphological and physiological development of reproductive systems of the species involved. One of the first requirements is a detailed description of the male and female structures -- usually referred to as the staminate and ovulate strobili, respectively. Reproduction involves four major steps; namely formation of gametes, pollination, fertilization, and embryo development. The male and female gametes are formed in the strobili by reduction-division of diploid nuclei to haploid nuclei. Pollination is the transfer of pollen produced by the staminate strobili to the ovules in the ovulate strobili. There is a variable time lag from pollination to fertilization; the time being dependent upon the species. Fertilization is the union of the male and female nuclei within the ovule. The resulting zygote, the first diploid cell of the sporophyte generation, develops into the embryo. Considerable work in this field has been done in other genera, but a limited amount of information is available for Picea.


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Author(s): R. Marie Rauter, J. L. Farrar

Publication: Tree Improvement and Genetics - Northeastern Forest Tree Improvement Conference - 1968