DEVELOPMENT OF FEMALE GAMETOPHYTE IN PEPEROMIA OBTUSIFOLIA. A. DIETR.

The evolution of female gametophyte development in angiosperms provides an excellent system to investigate the developmental basis of morphological novelty. In the present study, in Peperomia obtusifolia the ovary is unilocular with single, basal, unitegmic, orthotropous and crassinucillate ovule. During developmental stages meiotic and mitotic division takes place resulting into the formation of tetrasporic, sixteen nucleate, peperomia type of mature female gametophyte.