Figure 2

Dominance of the apical meristem in nondormant Crocus sativus corms. (A) removal of the apical bud allowed the sprouting of the axillary buds. a) corms with the apical meristems removed. b) intact corms. c) corms with sprouted secondary axillary bud 13 days after apical meristem removal. d) intact corms, as control, 13 days after the initiation of the decapitation experiment. (B) number of axillary buds sprouted or quiescent in each node after decapitation of the apical meristem. In each treatment, 25 corms were decapitated. Error bars represent SD of 25 replicates. (C) removal of the apical bud with or without other corm parts and results in sprouting of axillary buds. In each treatment, 25 corms were decapitated. Error bars represent SD of 25 replicates. (D) vascularization in the sprouted axillary buds of saffron corms (a-c). Absence of vasculature in quiescent axillary buds (d-f). Buds were sectioned by hand and sections were stained for lignin with phloroglucinol-HCl. Lignin staining is red. Pictures were taken under a dissection microscope.