Cypselar diversity in four species of &lt;i&gt;Senecio&lt;/i&gt; L. (Asteraceae)

Sobhan Kumar Mukherjee,Tulika Talukdar

doi:10.3329/bjpt.v21i1.19251

Abstract

The genus Senecio L. is one of the largest genera of flowering plants and is an important member of the tribe Senecioneae (Asteraceae). Phenotypic information, including a broad range of morphological characters is very crucial for phylogenetic reconsideration of any family, tribe or genus. In the family Asteraceae, very little attention has been paid to cypselar diversity, though it is regarded as taxonomically valuable. A sincere attempt has been made to study detailed cypselas macro and micro-morphological features of four species of Senecio L. These diacritical features could be used to strengthen current inter-specific concept of Senecio L.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v21i1.19251Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 21(1): 13-17, 2014 (June)

Highlights

The genus Senecio L. belongs to the tribe Senecioneae of the family Asteraceae and considered as one of the largest genera of flowering plants carrying c.1000 species in strict sense (Nordenstam, 2007)
10 dry and 10 FAA preserved mature cypselas were randomly taken in glass slides and graphed slides and observed under Olympus stereo dissecting microscope (DM) and Olympus binocular microscope (No 611062)
Occurrence of few myxogenic hairs having mucilaginous properties when soaked in water have been reported by Nordenstam (1977), Konechaya (1981) and Mukherjee (2001) in the members of Senecioneae

Summary

Introduction

The genus Senecio L. belongs to the tribe Senecioneae of the family Asteraceae and considered as one of the largest genera of flowering plants carrying c.1000 species in strict sense (Nordenstam, 2007). Our present investigation deals with detailed studies of cypselas macro as well as micro-morphological features of four species of Senecio L., namely S. aegyptius L., S. alpinus (L.) Scop., S. aquaticus Hill. Special emphasises have been given to traditional characters such as size and shape of cypselas, nature and distribution of ribs and furrows, nature of surface pubescence, structure of stylopodium, carpopodium, pappus etc.

Results

Conclusion