Abstract: From ontogeny of tapetum in Anemarrhena asphodeloides, the ultrastructnral features of tapetal cells are as follows: 1. The profuse rough endoplasmic reticula are often closely associated with lipid bodies and vesicles, and linking each other into compound organelles. This is one of the striking features in Anemarrhena tapetal cell. 2. After meiosis of the micro- spore mother cell, the tapetal cytoplasm contains a large number of vesicles, in which the electron opaque substances are accumulated. Then they fuse to form a large zone of storage material similar to lipid bodies. Before accumulation of opaque material, these vesicles in the tapetal cytoplasm are larger than those in elaioplast (see Plate II, Fig. 2). 3. During stage of pollen maturation the tapetal cytoplasm becomes disorganized and the cells are almost occupied by the elaioplasts at various degree of development. On the basis of the report of Dickinson (1973), the formation of a pollen coatings of Lilium is different from that of Raphanus. The osmiophilic bodies in the former have originated from membrane lamellae or membranous system of plastid, and those in the latter are formed from the plastid vescles. It is intereting to note that the mode of origin of the plastid osmiophilic bodies in Anemarrhena is rather similar to that of Raphanus than to Lilium. About the origin of the pro-Ubisch bodies in tapetal cytoplasm of Anemarrhena studies revealed that a large number of the medium electron dense bodies appear in the tapetal cytoplasm. This is the first sign of the formation of the pro-Ubisch bodies and its character is very similar to spherosome in many respects. From many ultrasections, it can be seen that the ER profile is closely associated with the pro-Ubisch bodies. Thus we can conclude that the proubisch bodies of Anemarrhena are derived from rough endoplasmic reticulum. Although Heslop-Harrison et al. (1969) has considered that the compound Ubisch bodies do not occur in Lilium, there are prominent aggregation of Ubisch bodies in Anemarrhena, same as reported in Oxalis (Cariel, 1967), Silene (Heslop-Harrison, 1963a) and Helleborus (Echlin et al., 1968). After investigation on certain angiosperm in 1972, Gupta and Nanda have reported that the peritapetal membrane belonging to tapetum of secretory type lies against the inner tang- ential wall; in the plasmodial type of tapetum, it is formed on the outer tangential wall. But in some species of Poaceae and Solanaceae, the peritapetal membrane is formed on both sides of the tapetal cells (Banerjee, 1967; Reznickov & Willemse, 1980). In the secretory tapetum of Anemarrhena, the peritapetal membrane, which do not comply with the conclusion of Gupta & Nanta (1972), is formed on outer tangential wall.

Key words: Ultrastructure, Tapetum, Ubisch body, Anemarrhena asphodeloides