Description
Abstract
The reproductive cycle in Zamia furfuracea, a coastal sand dune species, takes one year. Ovules during the initial stages of development as well as mature seeds were fixed, hand sectioned, and examined for polysaccharides and starch with iodine and periodic acid Schiff’s reagent, with oil red O for lipids, and naphthol blue black for proteins. Seed development for Z. furfuracea is completed in one year, from ovule initiation in June until the complete development of the embryo. Cell formation takes 3 weeks in September, and nutrient storage during the latter part of September. Seed coat hardening occurs at the beginning of November, when mature archegonia are present as well as first stages of suspensor development. Disseminules are dispersed during first half of December, at which time archegonia may be present and occasionally developing suspensors. Therefore, disseminules may or not be fertilized at the time of dispersal.
Keywords: reproductive cycle, ovule, seed, Zamiaceae
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Author(s)
Andrew Vovides was born in London, England in 1944. His parents, both Cypriots, emigrated to London in the mid- 1930s. His early education took place in London and he took engineering diplomas whilst working as an optical instruments engineer for a London based firm. He later took a position as a laboratory technician at the Botany department at Birkbeck College, London University. He obtained an Honors Botany Degree at the University of Wales, Cardiff and in 1975 he emigrated with his Mexican wife Victoria to Mexico, where he took up a research position at the lnstituto de Investigaciones Sobre Recursos Bioricos (IIREB) under Arturo Gomez-Pompa at Xalapa. His first project with Arturo was the foundation of the Jardin Bocinico Francisco Javier Clavijero, inaugurated on 17 February 1977. In 1978, Andrew had a three-month internship at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew where he worked with the Deputy Curator of Living Collections, Ian Beyer, and his staff on the intricacies of running a botanic garden. Andrew was also a founding member and first secretary of the Mexican Association of Botanic Gardens. Andrew became interested in cycads when Arturo Gomez-Pompa invited him to collaborate with John Rces on the Florade Veracruz treatment for Zarniaceae. Andrew was becoming acquainted with Mexican cycads and studying for a Ph.D. on the biology of Mexican cycads at the Botany Dept. at Cardiff. During his course of graduate studies he built up the Mexican National Cycad Collection at the Garden and obtained his Ph.D. in 1988 at a time when IIREB was closed and the Garden passed under the administration of the present lnstituto de Ecologia, A.C. He served a one-year post-doctoral internship at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden with Knut Norstog working on aspects of cycad pollination. Andrew has held scientific positions as a research botanist, botanic garden director and curator at Instituto de Ecologia, and serves as a member IUCN Cycad Specialist Group. He has produced over 100 scientifi Andrew Peter Vovides's Author Page