Plasticity in morphogenetic expression in plant.

This article discusses the plasticity of morphogenetic programmes in plants. It outlines the numerous ways in which the flowering programme can be accelerated or modified into partial flower formation and describes the differentiation of naked ovules on anthers in intact plants. The generation of embryos and flowers from cultured cells is then described and some of the properties of hypohaploids outlined. It is concluded that in vitro culture provides a useful facility for manipulating plant development and that the interaction between the nucleus and the cytoplasm may exemplify and explain the process of developmental plasticity.