Anther dehiscence in two-rowed barley (Hordeum distichum) triggered by mechanical stimulation

Abstract

Pricking or pressing an ovary can induce anther dehiscence in cleistogamous two-rowed barley in the absence of lodicule swelling. This response is considered to be inherited from a chasmogamous ancestor in which anther dehiscence is induced by the stimulus given to the pistil by the lodicule swelling, which causes floret opening.