Abstract:Using in vitro-flower experimental system of Taihangia rupestris Yü et Li in which development or abortion of stamens could be controlled by temperature, the cytological and cytochemical changes in both development and abortion processes of the stamens were comparatively studied. Cytological changes of the stamen abortion initiated at the microsporocyte stage before which normal cytological process were seen from stamen primordium to primary microsporocyte stage. However, despite of the normal cytological process, polysaccharide accumulation was never observed in the cells of anther and filament where as in the normally developing stamens polysaccharide accumulation must largely occurred in those cells mentioned above. The author considered that such cytochemical changes prior to the morphological deviances might be of great significance to approach the cause of tempera-ture-induced male sterility.