Cryptic seed abortion and the estimation of ovule fertilization

摘要

In a natural population ofRaphanus sativusL. 41 of all fertilized ovules aborted before seed maturation. However, in mature fruits over 75 of the abortion was undetected. The cryptic abortion of developing seeds was likely due to the early time of abortion and the corky nature of the pericarp. The results are important for the accurate measurement of ovule fertilization and seed abortion in ecological studies of plant reproduction.