Environmental Effects on the Percentage of Stainable and Presumed Normal Pollen in Aster (Compositae)

Pollen stainability is often equated with pollen viability or fertility and is used by botanists to evaluate degree of hybridity among individuals of a plant population. Under certain conditions, however, the effects of meiotic irregularities resulting from hybridization may be masked by those of the environment. In the genus Aster high percentages of pollen stainability were obtained in most samples from plants flowering in the greenhouse, including hybrids of distantly related species. When grown outdoors, plants of the same clones frequently suffered significant reduction in the amounts of normal pollen produced. During the period of flower development, two climatic parameters were assessed, relative humidity and maximum/minimum temperatures. Fluctuations in relative humidity were considerable but of nearly equal amplitude both in the greenhouse and in the open field. Diurnal temperature fluctuations, however, were much less drastic in the greenhouse than outdoors. The differential percentages of stainable pollen observed are probably attributable to the sum of environmental factors, including hard rains and strong winds, rather than any single parameter. In the genus Aster high amounts of aborted pollen grains appear to be largely a reflection of sensitivity to unfavorable microclimatic conditions during the post‐meiotic period of flower development, and data on pollen stainability cannot be employed as a measure of fertility or degree of hybridity.