A study was made of the ontogeny of the achene of Polygonum pensylvanicum L. from fertilization to maturity. The proembryo is classified as the Polygonum Variation, Asterad Type. Cotyledons are initiated three days after anthesis, and by the fifth day procambium is present in the embryo axis. At approximately seven days after anthesis, the embryo begins to curve and occupy a marginal position in the ovary. By ten days the first foliage leaf primordium is initiated at the stem apex of the embryo. At maturity the embryo consists of two cotyledons, a plumule composed of the stem apex and one leaf primordium, and a hypocotyl with a well-developed radicle. Endosperm nuclei begin to divide before the first division of the zygote. Cell wall formation begins in the endosperm at the micropylar end of the embryo sac and proceeds toward the chalazal region. By the fifth day the endosperm is completely cellular, except for a basal projection; and a peripheral meristem has been established. At approximately ten days the peripheral meristem ceases periclinal cell division and becomes the aleurone. At the time of fertilization the ovary wall has its full complement of cell layers. The walls of the outermost cells elongate and become convoluted. Subsequent thickening and lignification of these cell walls produce the hard epicarp of the mature achene. ECONOMIC LOSSES caused by weeds have beein of importance since the beginning of plant cultivation. Among the features that account for the survival and competitive ability of weeds to thrive oni disturbed land are rapid growth, production of large numbers of seeds, prolonged seed dormancy, and sporadic germination. Polygonum pensylvanicum L. (Pennsylvania smartweed) possesses these characteristics. This annual weed grows along ditches, in damp grasslands, waste places, and cultivated ground. The reproductive or disseminating unit of this plant is an achene, often incorrectly referred to as a seed. Although numerous studies on the early stages of embryo development have been reported for members of the Polygonaceae (Soubges, 1919a, b, 1920a, b, 1924; Lonay, 1922; Mahony, 1936) as well as later stages (Stevens, 1912; Woodcock, 1914; Lonay, 1922), no developmental account has been found for the embryo of P. pensylvanicum. The food reserve within the mature achene of I Received for publication 27 January 1971. A portion of a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Ph.D. degree at Iowa State University, Ames. The author expresses his sincere gratitude to Dr. John E. Sass for invaluable guidance and criticism throughout this investigation. Thanks are extended to Dr. David W. Staniforth who provided plant material for this investigation. The research was supported in part under Project 1589 of the Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, Iowa State University, David W. Staniforth, project leader; and by a National Science Foundation Summer Fellowship for Teaching Assistants, 1964. Journal Paper No. J-6819 of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, Ames. the Polygonaceae has been reported either as perisperm (Harz, 1885; Coulter and Chamberlain, 1903; Eames, 1961) or endosperm (Lubbock, 1892; Dammer, 1893; Kraemer, 1910; Winton and Winton, 1932; Esau, 1965). Endosperm development in several members of this family has been described by Stevens (1912), Woodcock (1914), and Lonay (1922). The structure of the mature fruit wall in several genera has been described by Harz (1885) and Kraemer (1910). Sirrine (1895) described the cellular arrangement of the fruit wall in P. pensylvanicum and several other species of the Polygonaceae. Winton and Winton (1932) described and illustrated the mature pericarp of P. convolvulus L. and indicated that the fruit wall of P. pensylvanicum is similar. The only report on pericarp development in this genus is by Lonay (1922) in P. aviculare L. LaCroix (1961) used embryo culture, stratification, and electron microscopy techniques to study dormancy in both freshly harvested and stored achenes of P. pensylvanicum. The physiological condition of the embryo and features of enveloping structures can contribute to delayed germination. In freshly harvested achenes, dormancy seemed to be associated with the permeability of the fruit wall. The present study follows the ontogeny of the achene of P. pensylvanicum from fertilization to maturity. Special emphasis is placed on the rapidly developing embryo, endosperm, and maturing fruit wall. Knowledge of the development and the mature structure of the achene should aid future studies on the permeability of