PRELIMINARY OBSERVATION ON THE METAMORPHOSIS OF LOTUS FEMALE ORGAN

The petalody of lotus(Nelumbo nucifera)stamens results in formation of many lotus varieties with multiplicate or semi-multiplicate flowers, while the metamorphosis of the pistils turns the whole flower into a peculiar form similar to "a pavillion on a terrace". The research work on metamorphoses of both sexual organs not only has practical value in plant breeding, helping to select and breed various varicties of peculiar flowers, hut also has great significance in the basic study of hereditary variation.The present paper offers a preliminary report on the metamorphosis phenomena of the lotus female organ based on the observations on the development of lotus plants grown in the Lotus Garden of the Chinese Culture Center, Modesto, Ca., U. S. A. in the summer of 1985 and blooming that very year.The metamorphosis of female organ observed includes the variation of carpels and the degeneration of receptacles at various levels. The author divides the morphological development of the carpel and receptacle 6types according to their metamorphosis levels: normal type, projecting carpel type, projecting hollow carpel type, low-petalody carpel type, middle-peta-lody carpel type and full-petalody carpel type.However, the cytological base of the character variation remains to be proved by making a further study.