Wheat, Triticum aestivum L., because of its importance as a food crop, has been subjected to intensive research throughout the world. In New Zealand wheat research has mainly been confined to the breeding of new varieties with emphasis on yield and quality. Little work appears to have been done on the physical and physiological attributes of these varieties. Aotea, a cultivar of Triticum aestivum L, and a standard variety in New Zealand, was selected for the present studies. The principal objectives were: 1. To investigate anatomically the ontogeny of underdeveloped basal spikelets in comparison with a central (6th from the base) and the terminal spikelet. 2. To study the effects of nitrogen and different photoperiodic treatments on floral development/degeneration of the spikelets.