Role of Ethylene in Senescence of Petals—Morphological and Taxonomical Relationships

Petal senescence in mature flowers was studied in 93 species from 22 families. The initial symptom of senescence was either wilting or abscission, but in some species the time span between wilting and abscission was very short. There was no apparent relationship between corolla form (choripetalous or sympetalous), ovary position (inferior or superior with respect to the corolla) and type of senescence (initial wilting or initial abscission). In monocots no initial abscission was found, while in dicots the difference between the wilting type and the abscission type was generally at the family level. With respect to petal senescence, sensitivity to exogenous ethylene (C2H4) was also related to the family level. Except for a few families (all tested Campanulaceae, Caryophyllaceae and Malvaceae, and most Orchidaceae), most of the flowers investigated that showed initial wilting were not sensitive to exogenous ethylene, e.g. all tested Compositae, Iridaceae, and Liliaceae. Most of the flowers showing initial abscission were sensitive to exogenous ethylene (Geraniaceae, Labiatae, Ranunculaceae, Rosaceae, Scrophulariaceae). Experiments with silver thiosulphate (STS) confirmed the effects of exogenous ethylene, both in flowers showing initial wilting and in flowers showing initial abscission. The data indicate, therefore, that ethylene is involved in the natural senescence of only a minority of the wilting type of flowers and in a majority (if not all) of the abscising type of flowers.