Flowering dynamics and pollen production of Laburnum anagyroides Med. under the conditions of south-eastern Poland

Abstract

Abstract A study on the flowering biology and pollen production of the common laburnum (Laburnum anagyroides Med.) was conducted under the conditions of Lublin during the period 2004 - 2006. The flowering of this species began in the second 10-day period of May and lasted for 2.5 - 4 weeks. The flowers of common laburnum are borne in showy golden-yellow pendulous racemes. They develop successively, starting from the base and moving to the tip of an inflorescence. During the growing season, one shrub produces 800 to 3200 racemes, with 14 to 35 flowers in a single raceme. On average, the flowering duration for a raceme was 12.8 days and 8.7 days for a single flower. Throughout the study years, the shrubs proved to be most attractive in the third 10-day period of May when they reached full bloom. The average weight of pollen produced was 6.08 mg per 10 flowers of Laburnum anagyroides, 14.02 mg per raceme, and 26.0 g per shrub. Pollen grains reached average dimensions of 24.01 μm × 24.26 μm.