Anatomy of seed development of Amphicarpaea Edgeworthii benth

Amphicarpaea edgeworthii Benth. is a wild legume species, with important value in the soybean breeding and research of plant developmental biology. The seed development of Amphicarpaea edgeworthii Benth. was observed using paraffin sectioning method by Nikon TE2000 light microscope. The ovule got fertilized and formed the zygote after flowering about 12 hours. The zygote was transversely divided into a terminal cell and a basal cell in two days after flowering. The proembryo continued cell division in directions forming globular embryo and then heart-shaped embryo, in which the cotyledons primordium began to occur. In 24 days after flowering, the embryo differentiated into matured embryo through Torpedo embryo (in 16 days after flowering).The endosperm cell formation began when the globular proembryo was formed,and the development of the endosperm was nuclear type. The mature seed of Amphicarpaea edgeworthii Benth is devoid of endosperm. The outer integument developed into the seed coat, and the seed coat cells were the fence cells with corneum, that may be one of the important reasons of hard seeds for Amphicarpaea edgeworthii Benth.