Abstract
In the gynoecium of <em>Dracaena fragrans</em>, <em>Sansevieria</em> <em>parva </em>and <em>S. trifasciata</em>, the vertical zonality of the ovary, the structural zonality of the gynoecium following Leinfellner, and the zonality of the septal nectary were studied. The ovary structure is characterised by a high parenchymatous ovary base and ovary roof as well as a long septal nectary that can be extended in both of them and opens with secretory nectary splits. The gynoecium of these species has a short synascidiate zone, a fertile hemisynascidiate zone with a median ovule attached, a hemisymlicate zone (only in <em>D. fragrans</em>) and an asymplicate zone (with postgenitally fused carpels) that comprises the ovary roof, common style and stigma. In the septal nectary, we detected three vertical zones: the basal zone of the distinct nectary in the ovary base or/and the synascidiate zone, the zone of the common nectary (in the hemisynascidiate and hemisymlicate zones) and the zone of the external nectary (the nectary splits in the asymplicate zone). The gynoecium structure in the studied species shows differences in the length of the gynoecium and septal nectary zones and also in the interrelationships of all these three types of vertical zonality.
Highlights
The monocot gynoecium is the subject of numerous new studies regarding the monocot phylogeny and evolution of the flower [1,2,3,4,5]
The Dracaena and Sansevieria species are closely related [6,7]; they were previously included in the families of Agavaceae [6,8], Convallariaceae [1], Dracaenaceae [7, 9], Ruscaceae [10], but they are regarded as members of the large and heterogeneous family Asparagaceae sensu lato [11]
VanHeel [12] carried out a SEM study of the gynoecium development of one of Dracaena and Sansevieria species, while Rudall et al [1] performed a cladistic analysis of the morphological characters of the flower, including the gynoecium characters
Summary
The monocot gynoecium is the subject of numerous new studies regarding the monocot phylogeny and evolution of the flower [1,2,3,4,5]. VanHeel [12] carried out a SEM study of the gynoecium development of one of Dracaena and Sansevieria species, while Rudall et al [1] performed a cladistic analysis of the morphological characters of the flower, including the gynoecium characters All these researchers confirmed the great resemblance of the two genera, with no diagnostic feature in the gynoecium structure for either of them. There are two types of syncarpous gynoecium: eusyncarpous and hemisyncarpous The latter one is characterised by congenital fusion only in the lateral part of pistil, while the innermost part of the common ovary has a cavity or is postgenitally (dermally) closed. Such a gynoecium has three vertical zones: hemisynascidiate, hemisymplicate and asymplicate, and often a septal nectary
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