Figure 2From: Apical dominance in saffron and the involvement of the branching enzymes CCD7 and CCD8 in the control of bud sproutingDominance 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 13Â days after apical meristem removal. d) intact corms, as control, 13Â 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.Back to article page