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Australian Journal of Botany Australian Journal of Botany Society
Southern hemisphere botanical ecosystems
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Floral development in three species of Acacia (Leguminosae, Mimosoideae)

Sandra Luz Gómez-Acevedo A C , Susana Magallón A and Lourdes Rico-Arce B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Departamento de Botánica, Instituto de Biología, UNAM. Apartado postal 70-233, 04510 México, D.F.

B Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AB, UK.

C Corresponding author. Email: sanluza@correo.unam.mx

Australian Journal of Botany 55(1) 30-41 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT05155
Submitted: 13 September 2005  Accepted: 31 July 2006   Published: 18 January 2007

Abstract

The complete sequence of floral development in three species of Acacia was analysed. These species were sampled from each of the three Acacia subgenera. The species were Acacia berlandieri Benth. (subg. Aculeiferum), A. pennatula (Schltdl. & Cham.) Benth. (subg. Acacia) and A. saligna (Labill.) H.L.Wendl. (subg. Phyllodineae). The aim of the study was to determine whether the different subgenera share developmental pathways during flower formation. This study showed that development in the genus Acacia is heterogeneous. Each species studied showed different inception patterns of the calyx and androecium, whereas the inception patterns of the corolla and gynoecium were similar. These differences of inception in the calyx are not necessarily constant within each subgenus. Nevertheless, each subgenus was differentiated on the basis of inception patterns of the androecium, and other features such as the presence or absence of congenital or postgenital fusion in the calyx and corolla, and the time of differentiation of calyx and corolla tubes and the style.


Acknowledgements

The authors thank Berenit Mendoza Garfias (MSc) for helping with the scanning electron microscope, Dr Judith Márquez and Dr Alfonso Delgado for their observations and support to the present work, which was the core of a MSc thesis of the first author. We also thank Dr Shirley C. Tucker and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments and constructive remarks on the text.


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