A TEST OF BURCK'S HYPOTHESIS RELATING ANTHER DEHISCENCE TO NECTAR SECRETION

SUMMARY William Burck in 1906/07 suggested that anther dehiscence in many flowers results from loss of considerable amounts of water not by transpiration, as commonly believed, but rather by withdrawal of the water internally to other tissues, particularly nectaries. Tests on flowers of eight dicotyledons failed to provide confirmatory evidence for Burck's conclusions. A number of additional, largely theoretical objections to Burck's hypothesis are also presented. Experimental evidence also suggests that anther dehiscence may not be exclusively the simple desiccatory process generally envisioned by botanists.