Studies on the Structure of Flowers and Inflorescences of Cornelian Cherry (Cornus mas L.)

Cevriye Mert

doi:10.15835/nbha4027914

Abstract

This study reports on the arrangement of flower buds and structure of floral organs of cornelian cherry (Cornus mas L.) cultivars local to Turkey. The local cultivars were investigated under stereo microscope, light microscope, and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results indicate that each node has two oppositely positioned buds on 1-year-old shoot. Inflorescences resembled the umbel structure that enclosed four (two sets of oppositely oriented) bud scales. The mean flower number varied between 16.3 and 19.9 per cluster among the cultivars. The flowers resembled the hermaphrodite type and one flower was found to have four rudimentary sepals, four petals, four stamens, and one pistil. The stamens were noted to be arranged around the base of the ovary. Each normal anther was observed to have two pollen-producing theca, and each theca was found to have two locules. The number of pollen grains per anther varied between 1380 and 4240 among the genotypes. The pistil was noted to have a deeply hollowed papillate stigmatic surface, and the central part of the style had conducting tissue. The ovarium part of the pistil was found to be surrounded by the nectary tissue, inferior type, and had two atropous ovules. The fruit resembled single-seeded, stone fruit type. This study is the first detailed study on the flower morphology and inflorescences of the cornelian cherry cultivars in Turkey.

Highlights

Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas L.) is one of the original fruit species of the Anatolian peninsula
The present study reports on the structure of the inflorescences and floral organs of six Cornus mas L. local cultivars that are local to Turkey
The arrangement of the buds on the shoots was found to be similar to other Cornus species (Eyde, 1987)

Summary

Introduction

Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas L.) is one of the original fruit species of the Anatolian peninsula. It is naturally distributed in mountainous areas as native plants, some selections have been made from wild plants throughout the centuries. High-quality genotypes have been propagated by vegetative means, such as grafting, layering, and root suckers. This fruit species is a valuable food resource, consumed as fruit juice, marmalade, jam, and may be canned. Some basic information can be found in the literature concerning botanical characteristics and inflorescences of Cornaceae and Cornus species (Eyde, 1987; Xiang, et al, 2003; Xiang and Boufford, 2005)

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