204 THE FLOWERING PROCESS 



and the flowering process, and thus there is ample challenge for the 

 inquiring mind. At the same time, a survey of our accomplishments 

 also yields a fairly satisfying picture. We can at least formulate a 

 coherent and reasonable outline of the flowering process. It is easy 

 to be impressed by the many ways that plants respond to their 

 environment, the low temperature, short- and long-day responses, 

 etc. There is a great diversity but some underlying uniformities are 

 becoming apparent. Control of plant processes by phytochrome 

 offers our first real insight into the photo- and biochemical interactions 

 of a plant with the low intensity light environment. The discovery of 

 a time measurement is itself most impressive, even if we still fail to 

 understand the mechanisms involved. There is much to learn, but at 

 least we have developed a concept of biochemical synthesis of a 

 flowering stimulus which will control the transformation of the 

 meristem to the reproductive condition. We are even beginning to 

 gain some insight into how this transformation might take place. 



