Capsular Fruits Research Articles

Palinotaxonomy of Passiflora section Xerogona (Passifloraceae)

Passiflora sect. Xerogona is a tropical and subtropical group comprising 14 species that occur in tropical and Atlantic forest domains throughout Latin America. The section is characterized by herbaceous vines bearing leaves without petiole glands or bracts, leaf blades without ocelli, and capsular fruits. The pollen grains of 13 species of this section were acetolysed and subsequently measured, described, and photographed. The taxa have large or medium sized pollen grains that are isopolar, prolate spheroidal, prolate, oblate spheroidal, spherical or subprolate, 12-colpate, 12-colporate or 6-colporate, 3 or 6 mesocolpium, with the presence or absence of an operculum, pseudoperculum, and secondary operculum, and with exineheteroreticulate. A key to the species based on pollinic data is presented, demonstrating that pollinic characteristics are important in the taxonomy of Passiflora.

From capsules to nutlets-phylogenetic relationships in the Boraginales.

Multiple family-level subdivisions of Boraginales have been proposed in the past. The relationships of several constituent genera have been enigmatic, including Codon (Codonaceae), Hoplestigma (Hoplestigmataceae), Pholisma (Lennoaceae), Vahlia (Vahliaceae), and Wellstedia (Wellstediaceae), all of which are included in the present study. We present a molecular analysis with four chloroplast loci, including 89 ingroup taxa and a broad outgroup sampling in the asterids. The genus Vahlia is excluded from Boraginales and appears to represent an early branching lineage of Lamiales. The study provides a well supported topology for the relationships within Boraginales, including all of the genera with previously unclear relationships. Within Boraginales, two major clades are recognized, with "herbaceaous" Boraginales I resolved as [Codonaceae,[Wellstediaceae,[Boraginaceae]]] and "woody" Boraginales II resolved as [Hydrophyllaceae I,[Hydrophyllaceae II,[Heliotropiaceae,[Cordiaceae,[Ehretiaceae,Lennoaceae]]]]. A close relationship between Ehretiaceae and Lennoaceae is well supported, but the exact placement of Lennoaceae remains unresolved. The Cordiaceae lineage includes the monotypic genus Coldenia and the aberrant western and central African genus Hoplestigma. Woody Boraginales II are retrieved in two highly supported clades. Hydrophyllaceae are retrieved in two separate clades, but with poor support. There appear to be clear morphological progressions in vegetative, floral, and fruit morphology in both major Boraginales lineages. Thus capsular fruits are found in the first branching lineages of both clades, whereas reduced seed numbers in indehiscent fruits predominate in the more derived phylogenetic positions. Based on these results, we advocate the recognition of eight morphologically well defined clades in the order, namely Boraginaceae s.str., Codonaceae, Cordiaceae (incl. Coldenia and Hoplestigmataceae), Ehretiaceae (incl. Lennoaceae), Heliotropiaceae, Hydrophyllaceae I and Hydrophyllaceae II, and Wellstediaceae.

Molecular Phylogeny of the Jimsonweed Genus <I>Datura</I> (Solanaceae)

Phylogenetic analyses were performed based on four plastid DNA sequences to determine if the Daturae and Datura are monophyletic and to understand their relationships and classification. Species of Datura have been divided into three sections based upon the position and type of the fruit: Ceratocaulis, Datura, and Dutra. Our analyses confirmed the monophyly of the Daturae clade with two genera, Datura with herbaceous species and Brugmansia with woody species. The Datura clade consists of two distinct lineages, that of D. ceratocaula, corresponding to the monospecific section Ceratocaulis, and one that gives rise to the remaining species of the genus. The large clade readily divides into two groups but they do not correspond to the conventional classification of the genus. Species with regularly dehiscent capsular fruits are present in both groups while species with irregularly dehiscent capsules are found in only one group. Because section Dutra is polyphyletic, realignment of species within two traditional sections is necessary as follows: Datura containing D. arenicola, D. discolor, D. ferox, D. quercifolia, D. kymatocarpa, D. leichhardtii, and D. stramonium; Dutra containing D. inoxia, D. lanosa, D. metel, D. reburra, and D. wrightii. The seed margin clearly distinguishes these sections, rather than the combination of fruit position and dehiscence which has been used previously.

Fruits of Koelreuteria (Sapindaceae) from the Cenozoic throughout the northern hemisphere: Their ecological, evolutionary, and biogeographic implications

Koelreuteria (Sapindaceae) has four extant deciduous tree species, disjunctly distributed in eastern Asia and the Fiji Islands. While K. paniculata is widely cultivated, the biogeographic origin and evolutionary history of Koelreuteria remain unclear. Fruits, pollen, wood, and leaves of closely related extant taxa were examined in comparison with fossil remains to evaluate the fossil record and biogeographic history of Koelreuteria. Overall, characters of capsular fruits are more diagnostic than other organs for this genus. We describe two new species of fruit remains from the Eocene, K. taoana sp. nov. (northeastern China and far eastern Russia) and K. dilcheri sp. nov. (western United States), and give emended descriptions of three species: K. allenii (Lesq.) W. N. Edwards (early-late Eocene of the United States), K. macroptera (Kováts) W. N. Edwards (late Oligocene-early Pliocene of Europe), and K. miointegrifoliola Hu et R. W. Chaney (Miocene of eastern Asia). Reliable fossil records of capsules and ring-porous wood indicate that Koelreuteria may have originated in North Pacific-Rim area of the northern hemisphere by the early Eocene, representing an early temperate lineage in Sapindaceae adapted for wind dispersal. The fossils herein place a minimum age (ca. 52 Ma) for the divergence of Koelreuteria from tropical genera that appear more basal in the molecular phylogeny of Sapindaceae. Regional extinctions after the Eocene in North America and the Pliocene in Europe, reduced the range of Koelreuteria to eastern Asia, where three species occur today. The present distribution of another species in the Southern Pacific may be explained by long-distance dispersal.

A New Species of Hedythyrsus (Rubiaceae) with Comments on the Generic Delimitations within African Spermacoceae s. l.

Abstract A new Hedythyrsus species from Katanga (D. R. Congo), Hedythyrsus katangensis , is described and illustrated based on classic herbarium taxonomy. The generic placement of the new species was determined by comparing it to African genera of the Hedyotis-Oldenlandia complex of the Spermacoceae s. l. that share the terminal position of the inflorescences and the capsular fruits opening by four valves, i.e. Agathisanthemum, Dibrachionostylus, Hedythyrsus, Mitrasacmopsis, and Pseudonesohedyotis. The new species differs from the known Hedythyrsus species in being geoxylic herbs instead of shrubs, and in having bifid, not multifid, stipules. Within Hedythyrsus katangensis two varieties are recognized. Variety ternifolius is distinguished from the type variety by the position of the leaves (often ternate in var. ternifolius, always opposite in var. katangensis) and the pubescence of stems, ovary, and calyx (scabrous to shortly hairy in var. ternifolius, glabrous in var. katangensis). Following the IUCN re...

Phylogenetic Relationships ofAllomaieta,Alloneuron,Cyphostyla, andWurdastom(Melastomataceae) and the Resurrection of the Tribe Cyphostyleae

In the Melastomataceae, flowers with superior ovaries usually develop into capsular fruits, while flowers with inferior or partially inferior ovaries develop into berries. The phylogenetic position and affinities of four enigmatic genera with inferior ovaries and capsular fruits, Allomaieta, Alloneuron, Cyphostyla, and Wurdastom, were investigated using three plastid loci (rbcL, ndhF, and rpl16) and morphological characters. These four genera have been placed at times in their own tribe, the Cyphostyleae, but they have also been placed in the Miconieae, and whether they form a group at all has also been the subject of debate. We find that these four genera form a well-supported group that can be diagnosed by the unique character combination of haplostemonous flowers (same number of anthers and petals), inferior ovaries, and capsular fruits. Most members of the tribe also have a calyptrate calyx, but the mode of dehiscing of the calyx varies across species. This character combination and the phylogenetic position of this clade within the family warrant the recognition of the tribe Cyphostyleae. The previously proposed synonymy of Cyphostyla under Allomaieta is maintained, and a key to the genera in the tribe and a list of all species, with nomenclatural and taxonomic information, are provided. Lectotypifications for two species are also included.

Comparative anatomical and developmental analysis of dry and fleshy fruits of Solanaceae

An anatomical examination of dry and fleshy fruits within the Solanaceae was carried out to identify comparable stages throughout development as well as features exclusive to each type of fruit. We studied fruit development of Nicotiana and Petunia, which have the plesiomorphic capsular fruit; Solanum and Iochroma, characterized by a derived fleshy berry; Cestrum, an independent origin of a fleshy fruit; and Datura, a reversion to a dry fruit. • Pre- and postanthesis carpels and fruits of all species were collected, sectioned, stained, and examined using light microscopy. • Comparable stages of carpel and fruit development were identified in all species. Furthermore, anatomical and developmental features were identified that characterize capsules in Solanaceae, including lack of increase in the number of pericarp cell layers, formation of a sclerified endocarp, and elongation of the epidermal cells of the placenta. Pericarps of fleshy fruits of the Solanoideae are characterized by abundant collenchyma, an increase in the number of cell layers, and a parenchymatous endocarp often expanding into the locules. Anatomical data show that early developmental stages of the fruit of Cestrum, a berry, are similar to the capsular fruits of Petunia and Nicotiana; similarly, Datura, one of the few capsular members of the Solanoideae, shares several anatomical features with closely related berried taxa. • Ontogenetically, all fleshy or all dry fruits do not necessarily share a common developmental ground plan. Independent evolution of fleshiness, sclerification, dryness, and dehiscence are discussed in a phylogenetic context.

Phylogeny of Celastraceae subfamily Hippocrateoideae inferred from morphological characters and nuclear and plastid loci

The phylogeny of Celastraceae subfamily Hippocrateoideae (∼100 species and 19 genera in the Old and New World tropics) was inferred using morphological characters together with plastid ( matK, trnL- F) and nuclear (ITS and 26S rDNA) genes. The subfamily is easily recognized by the synapomorphies of transversely flattened, deeply lobed capsules and seeds with membranous basal wings or narrow stipes together with bisexual, 5-merous flowers that generally have an extrastaminal disk and three stamens. Hippocrateoideae, like Salacioideae, are inferred to have an Old World origin. The narrow stipes of Neotropical species that are water-dispersed are inferred to be derived within the subfamily from ancestral species with wind-dispersed winged seeds. Helictonema, a monotypic genus endemic to tropical Africa, has a small, white, spongy aril that is located at the base of the seed wing and appears to be unique within Hippocrateoideae. Our inference that Helictonema is sister to the remaining members of the subfamily, considered in the context of Sarawakodendron being sister to Salacioideae, suggests that small arils and capsular fruit were primitive within both subfamilies. The aril became dramatically enlarged within Salacioideae, in which the fruits are berries, and lost entirely within Hippocrateoideae, in which the fruits are transversely flattened capsules. All five Old World taxa of Prionostemma and all eight currently recognized species within Simirestis are transferred to Pristimera, one South African variety of Pristimera is raised to species level, and all three taxa in Pristimera subgenus Trochantha are transferred to the new genus Trochantha.

Euphorbiaceae: Acalyphoideae fossils from early Miocene New Zealand: Mallotus– Macaranga leaves, fruits, and inflorescence with in situ Nyssapollenites endobalteus pollen

An early Miocene (ca. 23 Ma) flora from the Foulden Maar diatomite deposit, Otago, southern New Zealand contains numerous organically-preserved fossil leaf compressions, flowers and fruits. A fossilised male partial lax inflorescence carrying in situ pollen of the type Nyssapollenites endobalteus (McIntyre) Kemp & Harris is assigned to Euphorbiaceae, subfamily Acalyphoideae, tribe Acalypheae. Leaves from the same site are referred to the Mallotus–Macaranga clade (Euphorbiaceae: Acalyphoideae) on the basis of leaf architecture and epidermal features and described as Malloranga fouldenensis gen. et sp. nov. In addition, euphorbiaceous trilobed capsular fruits are assigned to the form genus Euphorbiotheca as E. mallotoides sp. nov. and an immature infructescence is also described. The inflorescence, pollen, leaves and fruits blew or fell into a small enclosed maar lake and must have been derived from trees or shrubs growing around the lake margin.

Morphoanatomy and ontogeny of fruit in Bromeliaceae species

This study aims to give an overall view of fruit structure in Bromeliaceae, since these studies are extremely scarce in this family, showing the morphology, anatomy and ontogeny of fruits of six species belonging to six different genera, representing three subfamilies. All species studied have a tricarpellary and trilocular ovary, with an obturator covering the placental region. Dyckia maritima, Pitcairnia flammea, Tillandsia aeranthos and Vriesea carinata have capsular fruits (septicidal or biscidal), characterized mainly by the presence of macrosclereids in the exocarp or endocarp, fibers in the ventral region of the carpels, six dehiscence lines and three vascular bundles in each carpel. Aechmea calyculata and Billbergia nutans have fruits classified as berries, presenting exocarp and hypodermis as mechanical layers and many vascular bundles in each carpel. Many useful characters for taxonomy of Bromeliaceae were revealed, so fruits are excellent tools for delimitation of genera and subfamilies. In relation to Bromeliaceae capsules, macrosclereids are conspicuous structures of the pericarp and fruit anatomy is greatly related to dehiscence type. The U-shaped cell wall thickenings are a very common character in this family and can be identified as structures also occurring in monocot fruits.

Closing bodies in the capsular fruits of Ruschioideae (Aizoaceae)—a review

Capsular fruits of the Mesembryanthema' are uniquely diverse and have been used to establish groupings within the tribe Ruschieae.The function, structure and development of the closing bodies of the Ruschioideae are reviewed from existing litrature and are supplemented by personal observations, providing a framework for future research aimed at resolving critical issues regarding the structure and taxonomic implications of the closing bodies of the Ruschioideae. The number of species per taxon, distribution and presence or absence of covering membranes and closing bodies within the Mesembryanthema are tabulated.

The Predominantly South American Clade of Lobeliaceae

Abstract A 3.7 kilobase region of chloroplast DNA that includes atpB, rbcL, and their intergenic spacer was sequenced in 61 samples from 45 species of South American Lobeliaceae plus two outgroup samples from Australia. A clade of four hexaploid Lobelia species from Chile is sister to a clade comprising Lysipomia, Siphocampylus, Centropogon, and Burmeistera. Lysipomia is a monophyletic group of small cushion-forming plants endemic to the high Andes, and is sister to the clade comprising the remaining three shrubby genera, which are most diverse in the Andes, but also extend to Central America, Mexico, and the West Indies. Siphocampylus has capsular fruit and is inferred to be paraphyletic relative to fleshy-fruited Centropogon and Burmeistera, but fleshy fruits have evidently evolved repeatedly, making Centropogon polyphyletiC. Burmeistera is primarily bat-pollinated and monophyletic, having evolved from one group of species in Centropogon. The phylogenetic relationships within Burmeistera indicate that t...

A NEW SPECIES OF PTEROSPERMUM (DOMBEYOIDEAE, MALVACEAE/STERCULIACEAE) FROM CAMBODIA AND VIETNAM

AbstractPterospermum mengii P.Wilkie (Dombeyoideae, Malvaceae/Sterculiaceae) from Cambodia and Vietnam is described as new to science and illustrated. It is most similar to Pterospermum pecteniforme Kosterm., sharing a distinctive wavy ridge at the margin of each locule of the capsular fruit, but differing by its larger leaves, oblong to obovate leaf shape, deeply cordate leaf base, and stellate indumentum on the undersurface of the leaves and fruit.

Taxonomic revision of the tribe Hymenodictyeae (Rubiaceae, Cinchonoideae)

The palaeotropical tribe Hymenodictyeae Razafim. & B. Bremer, belonging to the otherwise predominantly Neotropical subfamily Cinchonoideae s.s. (coffee family or Rubiaceae), is revised here. The tribe as presently circumscribed contains two genera, Hymenodictyon Wall. and Paracorynanthe Capuron ex J.-F. Leroy, and is distinct from the other Cinchonoideae tribes with capsular fruits in having stipules bearing large, deciduous colleters on the margins, valvate corolla aestivation, and lenticellate capsular fruits that contain elongate, bilaterally flattened, and accrescent placentae. We recognize 22 Hymenodictyon species, including four new species (H. antakaranensis sp. nov., H. epiphyticum sp. nov., H. madagascaricum sp. nov., and H. tsingy sp. nov.), and the two described species of Paracorynanthe. Hymenodictyon is distinguished from its sister genus, Paracorynanthe, by simple or compound spicate, racemose or thyrsoid inflorescences and corolla lobes without any appendages, rather than compound umbelliform inflorescences and corolla lobes prolonged by ciliate appendages. A full taxonomic treatment, keys, and distribution maps of all recognized Hymenodictyon and Paracorynanthe species are provided. Five lectotypes and one neotype are designated. Finally, six Hymenodictyon species are illustrated for the first time. © 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2006, 152, 331–386.

Physeterostemon (Melastomataceae): a new genus and two new species from the Bahian Atlantic Forest, Brazil

A new genus, Physeterostemon, with two new species, P. fiaschii and P. jardimii, is described from southern Bahian Atlantic forest of Brazil. The genus can be distinguished from all other Melastomataceae by its 6‐merous and diplostemonous flowers, toothed and persistent calyx, inferior ovary and dry, capsular fruits. The androecium consists of stamens that are slightly unequal in size with connectives that are unappendaged or minutely ventrally bituberculate and not prolonged below the thecae but dorsally and apically thickened; the anthers are oblong and rounded apically in ventral view, slightly projecting backwards over the connective in lateral view, but with a single ventral pore.

Fleshy Fruits in Liliflorous Monocots

Fleshy fruits occur in several monocot orders and families, and it is generally assumed that they have been derived from capsular fruits many times during the of monocot lineages. Huber hypothesized in 1969 that most capsules in Asparagales are derived secondarily from berries and that this transformation was correlated with the of phytomelan-coated seeds, a pivotal character in his circumscription of Asparagales as part of reclassifying Liliaceae s.l. Dahlgren and co-workers suggested several parallel derivations and reversals in this character, e.g., the transformation sequence trifollicular fruits → capsules → berries → capsules → berries. Mapping of fleshy fruits on a phylogeny based on molecular characters indicates that Asparagales do not have fleshy fruits as a basal character. Dahlgren's cyclic character evolution hypothesis is not supported by the distribution of dry and fleshy fruits, and there is no obvious correlation between baccate fruits and phytomelaniferous seeds in Asparagales. Phytomelaniferous seeds are not an evident synapomorphy of Asparagales as presently circumscribed. The anatomy and development of different capsular and baccate fruits in selected genera are studied in an ongoing project to reveal homologies and establish an adequate fruit typology. Some observations of texture and dehiscence structures in dry and fleshy capsules and in typical berries from hypogynous and epigynous flowers are reported in this paper.

Morpho-histogenic studies in the pericarp of Cardiospermum halicacabum L. (Sapindaceae)

The present study deals with the ontogeny, structure and development of Cardiospermum halicacabum fruit and the mode of its dehiscence. The trigonous, pyriform and bladdery capsular fruit of C. halicacabum develops from a 3-celled ovary with one ovule in each cell. The ovary wall is 5 to 7 cell layers thick. The outer epidermis of the ovary wall develops into a single-layered epicarp. The isodiametric cells of developing epicarp contain abundant tanniniferous contents. The 3 or 4 layers thick ground parenchyma of ovary wall constitutes the mesocarp. The thin walled cells of developing mesocarp are found to get apart from each other, as their elongation is meagre, to keep pace with the increment in the circumference of fruit. The tangentially elongated cells of inner epidermis of ovary wall form a single layered endocarp. The endocarpic cells of developing fruit do not exhibit much structural changes, except vacuolation. Due to the disintegration of thin walled parenchyma cells situated throughout the length of the septum and rupture of similar type of cells located in between two lateral vascular bundles, the ripe capsule of C. halicacabum dehisces septicidally.

An extinct genus of Salicaceae based on twigs with attached flowers, fruits, and foliage from the Eocene Green River Formation of Utah and Colorado, USA

A newly recovered twig with attached leaves and flowers from the Eocene Green River Formation of Utah provides the basis for recognizing a new, extinct genus of Salicaceae sensu lato (s.l.). Pseudosalix handleyi gen. et sp. nov. has alternate lanceolate leaves with pinnate, semicraspedodromous venation and a serrate margin with glandular teeth. The inflorescence is terminal on the twig and is unisexual, composed of flowers organized in a paniculoid cyme, with lateral paraclades of pedicellate flowers. The attached pistillate flowers have four prominent sepals that are valvate in bud, spreading but basally fused at anthesis; the single pistil of each flower is ovoid with three or four longitudinal sutures, indicating development to a capsular fruit. Three or four recurved styles radiate from the apex of the pistil, each with a distal globose stigma. The infructescence, verified by attachment to twigs with the same kind of leaves, bore capsular fruits of three and four valves. Associated but unattached, staminate flowers also have four well-developed, basally connate sepals. They are pedicellate and bear several stamens, each with a short filament and globose anther. The available morphological characters place the fossil species within the Salicaceae s.l. as an immediate sister to the clade containing Populus and Salix. Although the likely outgroup genera (including Itoa, Poliothyrsis, Carrierea, and Idesia) to tribe Saliceae all occur in Asia today and not North America, the occurrence of both Pseudosalix and Populus in the Eocene of Utah raises the possibility of a North American origin for the Saliceae.

Size-specific carbon allocation, seed production, and seed dispersal patterns in a desert lignified annual, Blepharis sindica (Acanthaceae)

Blepharis sindica (Acanthaceae) is a lignified annual plant inhabiting the Thar Desert. It has relatively large seeds (7.8 mg dry mass) and unique structures: lignified stems, spiny hard bracts, and hard, lignified capsular fruits. In order to understand the life history characteristics of this annual and its adaptation to the unpredictable and harsh conditions of the desert environment, resource allocation pattern and dispersal traits were analyzed in relation to plant size. Seed size and/or number may decrease with an increase in allocation to lignified stems, branches, bracts, and capsular fruits. However, these non-seed structures may play important roles with respect to reproductive success in desert environments. Reproductive allocation and seed output (total resources devoted to seeds) decreased and relative allocation to stems increased as plant size increased. Seed size increased rapidly at a certain plant size and held relatively constant above that size. The number of seeds produced did not increase below the critical resource level; however, seed number increased exponentially above this level. Seed dispersal correlated to plant size: larger plants tended to disperse lower proportions of seeds. These results suggest that non-seed maternal efforts in this annual plant are important for the establishment of a seed bank and the regulation of seed dispersal.

Reproductive structures and systematics of Buxaceae

Buxaceae belong to a grade of families near the base of eudicots. Flowers of these families are characterized by a variable number and arrangement of floral organs. In this study, the anthetic structure of the gynoecium and androecium of representatives of all genera of Buxaceae were comparatively studied, and observations on the flowering processes and pollination biology were made. Styloceras and Notobuxus were studied in detail for the first time. Various features of the morphological analysis support our earlier molecular phylogenetic study. Shared reproductive characters among Sarcococca, Pachysandra and Styloceras are the occurrence of two (rarely three) carpels, the lack of interstylar nectaries, a micropyle formed by both integuments, attractive stamens in male flowers, and fleshy fruits. In addition, Styloceras and Pachysandra share a secondary partition in the ovary. Notobuxus does not seem to be clearly distinct from Buxus. Both have a similar inflorescence and perianth structure; female flowers have three carpels, interstylar nectaries, micropyles formed by the inner integument, rudimentary arils, and they develop into capsular fruits; in male flowers stamens are sessile and the central pistillode is lacking in some species. Thus, it is questionable to justify a separation of Buxus and Notobuxus at genus level. The results further strongly support the placement of Buxaceae among basal eudicots. © The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2002, 140, 193–228.