Question

an ephemeral layer in anther wall is:

Answer 1

Middle layer is ephemeral in nature and absent in a mature anther

The well-differentiated anther wall comprises

Epidermis
Endothecium
Middle layers
Tapetum
Middle layers


In, general there are 1-3 middle layers; more layers are found in anthers of some angiosperms such as Lilium while in others, such as Wolffia and Vallisneria, middle layers are absent. The cells are flattened, thin-walled, uninucleated and vacuolated. They are rich in reserve food material such as starch, which gets mobilized during the development of pollen. Middle layers are generally transient or ephemeral and become crushed during meiosis in the microspore mother cells. In plants like Lilium and Ranunculus, one or more middle layers may persist until the dehiscence of anthers (Bhojwani et al. 2014). In some plants, the middle layers may develop secondary thickenings similar to the endothecium cells as in Heliconia species (Simao et al 2007) and assist in dehiscence of anther.