Somatic embryogenesis and direct as well as indirect organogenesis in Lilium pumilum DC. Fisch., an endangered ornamental and medicinal plant.

Somatic embryogenesis and organogenesis in Lilium pumilum were successfully regulated by picloram, α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), and 6-benzyladenine (BA). In organogenesis, the highest shoot regeneration frequency (92.5%) was obtained directly from bulb scales on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 2.0 mg L(-1) BA and 0.2 mg L(-1) NAA, while organogenic callus (OC) formed from leaves on MS medium supplemented with 1.0 mg L(-1) BA and 0.5 mg L(-1) NAA. Following subculture, 76.7% of OC regenerated shoots. In somatic embryogenesis, the combination of picloram and NAA increased the amount of embryogenic callus (EC) that formed with a maximum on 90.7% of all explants which formed 11 somatic embryos (SEs) per explant. Differences between EC and OC in cellular morphology and cell differentiation fate were easily observed. SEs initially formed via an exogenous or an endogenous origin. The appearance of a protoderm in heart-shaped SE and the bipolar shoot-root development in oval-shaped SE indicated true somatic embryogenesis. This protocol provides a new and detailed regulation and histological examination of regeneration pattern in L. pumilum.