Development of the Staminate Flower in the Dwarf Mistletoe, Arceuthobium

Abstract

A study of the staminate flower of Arceuthobium provided information on the development of the central cushion and the archesporial cells of the anther. From this study it was not possible to substantiate claims that the central cushion of the flower represents a rudimentary pistil. The archesporium of the anther was found to be unilocular from the very beginning and not derived by a breakdown of partitions and subsequent fusion of several locules as previously reported.