Light filtering function of bud scales in woody plants.

Bud scales ofPicea abies (L.) Karst andFagus sylvatica L. selectively transmit the incident spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. It was shown that the scales absorb almost all radiation below 600 nm. Only the red and far-red light which is reduced to 0.01-2% reaches the apical domes. The center of a beech bud receives 0.11% and the center of a spruce bud 0.84% of the incident 300-2,000 nm light.