Flora Unveiled

Crop Domestication and Gender j 37

37 37

Of all the differences between wild and domesticated cereals, two are regarded as

most critical for domestication. The first is the loss of seed dormancy— the inability of

certain seeds to germinate when planted in moist soil unless given additional environ-

mental stimuli, such as a cold treatment. Because the loss of seed dormancy trait is invis-

ible, it does not show up in the archeological record. Such a change may have begun

either during the phase of ecosystem management prior to the adoption of a sedentary

lifestyle, or later, in small garden plots planted near permanent settlements during the

(a)

(b)

(c)

palea

stigma

lemma

carpel

anther + lament

Figure 3.3 Three views of the oat flower. A. An oat spikelet contains a pair of florets. B. Oat flower

dissected from a single floret. C. Diagram of oat floret. The ovary, topped by two feathery stigmas, is

surrounded by three stamens. The reproductive structures are enclosed in two modified scales, the

larger lemma with its bristle- like extension, the awn, and the smaller palea (missing in B). During

selfing, pollen released from the anthers is deposited on the stigmas of the same flower before the

opening of the floret.

B is from: http:// http://www.biology.iastate.edu/ Courses/ 202L/ New%20Site%20S05/ 27AngioReprod/ Plantrepro.htm).