Search

Background and Aims Floral developmental studies are crucial for understanding the evolution of floral structures and sexual systems in angiosperms. Within the monocot order Poales, both subfamilies of Eriocaulaceae have unisexual flowers bearing unusual nectaries. Few previous studies have investigated floral development in subfamily Eriocauloideae, which includes the large, diverse and widespread genus Eriocaulon. To understand floral variation and the evolution of the androecium, gynoecium and floral nectaries of Eriocaulaceae, we analysed floral development and vasculature in Eriocaulon and compared it with that of subfamily Paepalanthoideae and the related family Xyridaceae in a phylogenetic context. Methods Thirteen species of Eriocaulon were studied. Developmental analysis was carried out using scanning electron microscopy, and vasculature analysis was carried out using light microscopy. Fresh material was also analysed using scanning electron microscopy with a cryo function. Character evolution was reconstructed over well-resolved phylogenies. Key Results Perianth reductions can occur due to delayed development that can also result in loss of the vascular bundles of the median sepals. Nectariferous petal glands cease development and remain vestigial in some species. In staminate flowers, the inner stamens can emerge before the outer ones, and carpels are transformed into nectariferous carpellodes. In pistillate flowers, stamens are reduced to staminodes and the gynoecium has dorsal stigmas. Conclusions Floral morphology is highly diverse in Eriocaulon , as a result of fusion, reduction or loss of perianth parts. The nectariferous carpellodes of staminate flowers originated first in the ancestor of Eriocaulaceae; petal glands and nectariferous branches of pistillate flowers originated independently in Eriocaulaceae through transfer of function. We present a hypothesis of floral evolution for the family, illustrating a shift from bisexuality to unisexuality and the evolution of nectaries in a complex monocot family, which can contribute to future studies on reproductive biology and floral evolution in other groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premise: There is little direct evidence linking floral development and pollination biology in plants. We characterize both aspects in plain and ornamented flowers of Trimezieae (Iridaceae) to investigate how changes in floral ontogeny may affect their interactions with pollinators through time. Methods: We examined floral ontogeny in 11 species and documented pollination biology in five species displaying a wide range of floral morphologies. We coded and reconstructed ancestral states of flower types over the tribal phylogeny to estimate the frequency of transition between different floral types. Results: All Trimezieae flowers are similar in early floral development, but ornamented flowers have additional ontogenetic steps compared with plain flowers, indicating heterochrony. Ornamented flowers have a hinge pollination mechanism (newly described here) and attract more pollinator guilds, while plain flowers offer less variety of resources for a shorter time. Although the ornamented condition is plesiomorphic in this clade, shifts to plain flowers have occurred frequently and abruptly during the past 5 million years, with some subsequent reversals. Conclusions: Heterochrony has resulted in labile morphological changes during flower evolution in Trimezieae. Counterintuitively, species with plain flowers, which are endemic to the campo rupestre, are derived within the tribe and show a higher specialization than the ornamented species, with the former being visited by pollen‐collecting bees only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simultaneous microsporogenesis is described for the first time in a grass, Streptochaeta spicata Schrad., a tropical Brazilian species that belongs in the early-divergent subfamily Anomochlooideae. Microsporogenesis is successive in all other Poaceae examined so far, and most other members of the order Poales, to which grasses belong. The only other reports of simultaneous microsporogenesis in Poales are in Rapateaceae and some members of the cyperid clade (Juncaceae, Cyperaceae, Prionium and Thurnia). Among the graminids, Ecdeiocolea (the putative closest relative to Poaceae) is successive, as are Joinvillea, Flagellaria and all other Poaceae, indicating that the simultaneous condition is autapomorphic in Streptochaeta, though Anomochloa has yet to be examined. Anther wall development in Streptochaeta is of the reduced type, as also in another early-divergent grass Pharus, though most other Poales, including most grasses, have the monocot type. In Streptochaeta, as in Pharus, the endothecium lacks thickenings, unlike other grasses that have a persistent endothecium with thickenings. The centrifixed anthers and nonplumose stigmas of Streptochaeta suggest entomophily. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Mayacaceae are a monogeneric monocot family of herbs that grow on swampy areas in the Americas and in Africa. Both the number of species constituting the family and its inter-familial relationships are unclear. By describing and comparing the floral anatomy of Mayaca fluviatilis, M. fluviatilis f. kunthii, M. longipes and M. sellowiana we have identified some features that delimit the species. These include: arrangement of flowers on the stem, shape of stamens, size of apical pores, disposition of microsporangia, number of ovules and shape of the stylar canal. We concluded that M. fluviatilis f. kunthii should be considered as a species (M. kunthii) rather than a forma. Other characters such as number of stamens and microsporangia, placentation, ovule type and cell numbers in the pollen grain support the placement of the Mayacaceae within Poales. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]