Premium
STRUCTURAL AND HISTOCHEMICAL CHARACTERS OF THE PROSOPIS TAMARUGO PHIL. SEED COAT, IN RELATION TO ITS HARDNESS
Author(s) -
Valenti G. Serrato,
Modenesi P.,
RotiMichelozzi G.,
Bevilacqua L.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
acta botanica neerlandica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.871
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1438-8677
pISSN - 0044-5983
DOI - 10.1111/j.1438-8677.1986.tb00487.x
Subject(s) - coat , palisade cell , viral tegument , botany , biology , composite material , materials science , virology
SUMMARY The structural and histochemical characteristics of the Prosopis tamarugo Phil. seed‐coat have been investigated by bright‐field, fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy. P. tamarugo seed dormancy is exclusively due to the hardness of the seed‐coat. The water barrier is thought to be located in the superficial portion of the palisade cells named “cylindrical part”, sited directly under the cone‐like endings of the palisade cells themselves. The periclinal disposition of the “cylindrical parts” originates a line particularly evidenced by histochemical procedures of fluorescence that indicate their lipidic nature. It is believed that under natural environmental conditions a process of cracking deeper than this level permits water entry.