Greenhouse-grown oilseed rape (Brasskca napus, annual Canola variety 'Westar') plants were harvested at six dates from the vegetative phase until the early pod (silique)-fill/late flowering stage. Endogenous gibberellin (GA)-like substances were extracted from stems, purified, and chromatographed on silica gel partition columns prior to bioassay in serial dilution using the 'Tan-ginbozu' dwarf rice microdrop assay. The concentrations of total endogenous GA-like substances were low during vegetative stages (1 nanogram GA3 equivalents/gram dry weight), and rose 300-fold by the time of floral initiation. After floral initiation the concentration of GA-like substances fell, then rose again during bolting to maximal levels during the early pod-fill stage (940 nanograms per gram dry weight). The qualitative profiles of GAlike substances varied across harvests, with higher proportions of a GAr-like substance at the early pod-fill stage. In a second study stems were similarly harvested at eight dates and the concentrations of endogenous GA1, the principal bioactive native GA of oilseed rape, were determined by gas chromatographyselected ion monitoring using [17,17-2H]GAI as a quantitative intemal standard. The concentration of GA1 increased at about the time of floral initiation and then subsequently fell, thus confirming the pattem noted above for total GA-like substances. The exogenous application of paclobutrazol (PP333), a persistent triazole plant growth regulator (PGR) which blocks GA biosynthesis, or another triazole, triapenthenol (RSW0411), prevented flowering as well as bolting; plants remained at the vegetative rosette stage. These results imply a causal role for endogenous GA, in the control of bolting, which normally precedes anthesis. Further, the rise in the concentration of total endogenous GA-like substances, including GA,, which was associated with floral initiation, and the prevention of visable floral development by the triazole PGRs, also indicates a role for endogenous GAs in the regulation of flowering in B. napus.