Abstract: Calcium was localized ultracytochemically in the stigma, style and micropyle of sun-flower (Helianthus annuus L. ) by pyroantimonate precipitation technique. To identify the element constitution of the pyroantimonate deposits, wave-dispersive X-ray microanalysis (WDX) method was employed in addition to the energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDX) and the deposits observed were directly proved as calcium pyroantimonate. In the stigma, calcium was more abundant on the receptive surface, especially outside and inside the papillae, than on the noo-receptive surface. In the style, more calcium was seen in the transmitting tissue as compared with the adjacent parenchymatous tissue, and was concentrated at the intercellular matrix and the boundary between the cell wall and the intercellular matrix. In micropyle region, the transmitting tissue on the side proximal to the funicle contained large amount of calcium, where as more calcium was localized in the intercellular matrix. As for the pollen tubes growing along the gynoecium, calcium was mainly localized at the pectin layer of the tube wall after 1.5 hours of pollination.

Key words: Sunflower, Gynoecium, Calcium, Ultracytochemical localization, X-ray Microanalysis