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Floral Development, Flowering Patterns, and Growth Rate of Monoecious and Gynoecious Buffalo Gourd


The effect of sex expression on floral development, floral distribution, plant form, and growth rate was observed in monoecious and gynoecious buffalo gourd (Cucurbita foetidissima HBK.). Monoecious plants exhibited vegetative, male floral, mixed floral, and secondary vegetative phases in progression. During potentially male and potentially mixed floral phases of gynoecious plants, staminate flowers developed normally until male buds reached 2 to 3 mm in length. Thereafter, stamens degenerated and the resulting stamenless buds aborted. Gynoecious phenotypes produced pistillate flowers at earlier nodes than did their monoecious counterparts and, on individuals selected for detailed study, gynoecious plants produced about four times as many pistillate flowers as did monoecious plants. However, sex expression did not affect female bud ontogeny. On monoecious individuals, pistillate buds reached an thesis in about half as many days as was required for development of staminate buds. Growth rates and the patterns of growth were similar in monecious and gynoecious plants.