Ushadi It is common to see short condensed shoots in most plants, especially Agave, Furcraea, Yucca, etc. in the place of flowers. These fall down, take roots and give rise to new plants. These are known as bulbils. They also common in Poa bulbosa. We have another very common onion variety in Kashmir (in Europe also) known as palan, Top onion in Europe. It does not produce thick bulbs like onion only cylindrical bulbs (like spring onions) are sold and consumed in place of onion and garlic. The inflorescence of this produces bulbils in place of flowers, and enables this to multiply. Here is some interesting information about it from my book
"The technique of silver-staining has been developed to highlight NOR (nucleolar organizing region). An interesting study of the chromosomes of top onion (variously recognized as Allium cepa var. viviparum or A. fistulosum var. proliferum) as also those of A. Cepa and A. fistulosum was done by Schubert, Ohle and Hanelt (1983). By Giemsa banding pattern and silver-staining studies, they concluded that some chromosomes of top onion resemble A. cepa and others resemble A. fistulosum. Of the two satellites, one resembles either species. Top onion is as such a pseudodiploid with no homologous pair. The study confirmed that top onion is a hybrid between the two aforesaid parents, and thus would be better known as A. x proliferum (Moench) Schrad. (based on Cepa proliferum Moench), and not as a variety of either species. Interestingly, the top onion owes its existence to the bulbils, which are produced in place of an inflorescence and ensure the multiplication of the hybrid, which is otherwise sterile" -- Dr. Gurcharan Singh Retired Associate Professor SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007 Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018. Phone: 011-25518297 Mob: 9810359089 http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/ On Sat, Nov 5, 2011 at 9:24 PM, Smita Raskar <[email protected]> wrote: > Incredible pictures :) > > > On Sat, Nov 5, 2011 at 8:22 PM, Ushadi micromini < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> Gurucharanji... >> please explain to me because I just do not know : in this last picture >> above why is it a bulbil (the brown things) and not seedpod? >> >> I am a bit confused about this... >> >> I am familiar with the small black bulbils that form in some tiger >> lillies..etc... >> but these look like fruits to my eyes... >> >> or may be I am not looking at the right object... >> thanks >> Usha di >> ============ >> >> >> >> >> >> On Nov 5, 1:56 pm, shivaprakash adavanne <[email protected]> wrote: >> > hello, >> > please few photos of Furcraea foetida in flower and with bulbil. >> > Flowers photos was taken at Konanur, Nanajagudu taluk, Mysore >> > district(23.10.2011) and plant with bulbil in Bettada beedu, Mysore >> taluk >> > and district on 05.11.2011. >> > >> > regards >> > a.shivaprakash >> > >> > Furcraea foetida (1).JPG >> > 312KViewDownload >> > >> > Furcraea foetida (3).JPG >> > 309KViewDownload >> > >> > Furcraea foetida (5).JPG >> > 344KViewDownload >> > >> > Furcraea foetida.JPG >> > 265KViewDownload > > > > > -- > Smita raskar > 308 Disha Residency, > Salaiwada,Sawantwadi > Mob.09422379568 / 09763989639 > >
