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Australian Systematic Botany Australian Systematic Botany Society
Taxonomy, biogeography and evolution of plants
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Embryological studies of Magonia pubescens (Dodonaeaeae, Sapindaceae): development of male and female gametophytes in both floral morphs and its phylogenetic implications

Valeria Vanesa González A , Stella Maris Solís B C and María Silvia Ferrucci A B D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste (IBONE–CONICET), C.C. 209, W3400CBL, Corrientes, Argentina.

B Cátedra de Morfología de Plantas Vasculares, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias (FCA–UNNE), W3400CBL, Corrientes, Argentina.

C Cátedra de Morfología Vegetal, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Naturales y Agrimensura (FACENA–UNNE), W3400CBL, Corrientes, Argentina.

D Corresponding author. Email: msferrucci01@gmail.com

Australian Systematic Botany 30(3) 279-289 https://doi.org/10.1071/SB17021
Submitted: 19 April 2017  Accepted: 7 August 2017   Published: 20 October 2017

Abstract

Magonia pubescens A.St.-Hil. (Dodonaeaeae, Sapindaceae) is a monoecious species exhibiting two floral morphs, namely staminate flowers, with gynoecium reduced to a pistillode, and morphologically hermaphrodite but functionally pistillate flowers. It presents the basic type of antheral wall development. Microsporogenesis is normal, forming tetrahedral and decussate tetrads. Anatomical differences in anthers between floral morphs become visible at the stage of callose wall degradation and release of tetrads. In staminate flowers, the endothecium develops fibrous thickening, and the two middle layers, the tapetum and the parenchymal septum that separates both locule, are degraded. At dehiscence, permanent calymmate tetrads are released. Magonia is the only genus of the family with this type of pollen unit. In pistillate flowers, the endothecium exhibits fibrous thickening only in three to five cells on the dorsal loculus, and only the inner middle layer collapses. The septum that separates both locules remains unaltered, the stomium is non-functional, mature anthers are indehiscent and show collapsed tetrads. In staminate flowers, the gynoecium is reduced to a tricarpellar pistillode, trilocular, with ovules that degenerate after megasporogenesis. In pistillate flowers, the gynoecium has a tricarpellary ovary, with six to eight ovules per carpel; they are campylotropous, bitegmic, mixed crassinucellate, and exhibit a well-developed obturator. The phylogenetic implications of these embryological characters are discussed in the context of the family.

Additional keywords: calymmate tetrads, developed obturator, embryology, monoecious, ovules campylotropous.


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