Current issue: 58(4)
The timing of the tetrad phase of microsporogenesis in sixteen tree species, belonging to the genera of Abies, Larix, Picea, Pinus, Alnus, Betula, Corylus and Populus, was studied. The tetrad phase of microsporogenesis in conifers and in Populus tremula L. was reached from late March to early June including the yearly and latitudinal variation. The tetrad phase in Betulaceae was reached in late July to mid-August. The microsporogenesis in Betulaceae species differed in ecophysiological terms from the other species studied in that the timing in Betulaceae was rather day-length dependent than heat sum-correlated. In conifers and in Populus the timing of tetrad phase correlated with heat sums accumulated and did not correlate with day length or any kind of thermal threshold. This difference was, however, judged to be associated to seasonal adaptive strategies rather than taxonomic relationships.
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