Phenotype Observation And Anatomic Structure Resrarch Of Petals From The Monocotyledons Blue Flower

As a result of chemical evolution in nature, the generation of blue flowers is not onlydetermined by the accumulation of particular anthocyanins （usually delphinidin） but also arange of additional factors, including co-pigmentation, vacuolar pH and cell shape. Althoughunderstanding of the biochemistry and genetics of anthocyanin and flavonol biosynthesis iswell developed, this is not the case for cell shape control. To elucidate the effect of cell shapeon the flower color formation in monocotyledons, anatomical research was carried out with17blue monocotylous flowers and a cytological study of the colored protoplasts in which theshapes of the cells accumulating anthocyanin were observed by scanning electron microscopy（SEM）. The main results are as following:1. According to the Royal Horticultural Society Color Chart （RHSCC）, flower color of17monocotyledons were grouped into three classes: blue, violet and violet-blue. Colormeasurement of petals showed a negative correlativity between a~*（a positive value forreddish colors）and b~*（a negative value for the bluish colors）. In addition, no remarkablecorrelation between lightness（L~*） and a~*or b~*were detected.2. Two main pigmentation pattern appeared in petals of the blue flowers：the color cellslocalize in the palisade cell layers or the epidermis. In some flowers with deep colors，colorcells localized both in the palisade cell layer and the epidermis.3. The epidermal cell shapes of17monocotyledon flowers were grouped into fiveclasses: conical, flat, oval, strip shapes and irregular mosaics. It seems that a conical shapecan enhance pigment intensity and brightness of the flowers.In conclusion, the blue hues of17monocotyledon flowers were affected by bothpigmentation pattern and shape of epidermal cells.