Understanding the mechanisms of flower opening will benefit
commercial horticulture as well as plant science generally. The
process
of flower bud development and subsequent flower open-
ing
is related to petal growth, including cell division and expansion.
In
Gaillaradia grandiflora, cell division of the petals seems to stop
at
an early stage of flowering, and no increase in the number of
abaxial
epidermal cells has been observed (Koning, 1984). In carnation
flowers, the amount of DNA in the petals does not increase
once
petals emerge from the calyx, suggesting that cell division
also
stops at an early stage (Kenis et al., 1985). These findings
indicate
that petal growth associated with flower opening mainly
depends
on cell expansion.