Gynodioecy is typically associated with a smaller perianth size in the purely pistillate flowers than in the hermaphrodite flowers. However, it is unclear whether this size differentiation is associated with any differences in flower shape between the two sexual groups. A geometric morphometric analysis of the symmetry of tetrameric corolla shapes was used in the study of Euonymus europaeus L., Darwin's classical system of floral sexual differentiation. I investigated whether there are any shape differences between the female and bisexual flowers, with respect to both purely symmetric variation involving coordinated shape changes of the four petals and asymmetry among petals within flowers. The corolla shapes of the female and bisexual flowers and the variability among flowers within each sexual group were very similar in the purely symmetric components of shape variation. However, the female flowers were significantly more asymmetric with respect to both the lateral and transversal asymmetry of their corolla shapes. This is the first study to apply geometric morphometrics in the analysis of morphological patterns in a sexually differentiated gynodioecious plant system. The results showed that subtle shape differences in corolla asymmetry differ between the sexual groups and indicate diverging developmental or selection signals between the sexes.

Aging in the limbs is divided into two categories: ethylene-sensitive limbs, and ethyleneinsensitive limbs. Extracellular synthesis of ethylene in the first group is carried out through a specific biochemical pathway that results from flower development and pollination. The present study aims to explore the effects of aminooxyacetic acid (AOA) on the expression of ethylene biosynthesis pathway genes (1-aminocyclopropane-1carboxylate synthase (ACS) and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate oxidase (ACO)) and the vase life of the Alstroemeria cut flowers 'Mayfair' and 'Frosty' varieties. Also, the effect of AOA on at the rates of 0, 50, 100 and 150 mg/l was studied on the morphological and physiological traits. The comparison of the vase life of Mayfair and Frosty showed that Frosty had a longer vase life than Mayfair. Frosty exhibited lower levels of cell degradation, higher relative water content, more chlorophyll content, more 862