Unique Style Morphology in the Monotypic Famatinanthoideae-Famatinantheae, a Recently Established Subfamily and Tribe of Asteraceae

Abstract

Abstract Famatinanthus, a recently established monotypic genus, has a unique style type with a cobblestone-like surface. These cobblestonelike units comprise several epidermal cells that often have periclinal walls, resulting in a partially “double epidermis.” The particular epidermis supports the exclusion from the genus Aphyllocladus (based on morphological data) as well as the elevation of the genus Famatinanthus to tribe and subfamily rank (based on chloroplast DNA data). To demonstrate the uniqueness of the stylar morphology of Famatinanthus, its styles and those of the remaining four species of Aphyllocladus were studied by SEM and histological sections. In addition, representatives of the basal tribes that share non-stylar characters with Famatinanthus, namely Gochnatieae, Hyalideae, Onoserideae, and Stifftieae, were studied in comparison. Due to the lack of stylar hairs, Famatinanthus is clearly distinct from Aphyllocladus, Onoseris (Onoserideae), and Hyaloseris (Stifftieae), which have stylar hai...