Abstract
Abstract Axillary meristems of Mammillaria elongata DC were studied with a scanning electron microscope using fresh tissue to determine their degree of development and suitability as explants in tissue culture investigations. Meristems were excised at regular intervals along the stem. The axillary meristem reached maximum size about 10 cm and maximum development about 15 cm below the stem tip. Axillary meristems closer to the base of the stem were less developed. In fully developed meristems, leaf primordia were initiated in a spiral acropetal sequence at the margins of the apical dome, resulting in a phyllotaxis of 8 + 13 contact parastichies of tubercles on the developed stem. Enlarged leaf primordia were 1- or 3-lobed and about 75 μm in length. No flower initiation or lateral branch development was observed; however, a corky region, the result of aborted or senesced flowers, was observed in several axils. Variability in development or absence of axillary meristems in several axils make M. elongata axillary meristems unsuitable for critical studies on factors influencing organogenesis in tissue culture.
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