| Abstract Detail
Plant Development / Développement des plantes (CBA/ABC) Lacroix, Christian [1], Barabé, Denis [2]. Developmental morphology of the flower of Anaphyllopsis americana (Araceae). The early stages of development of the inflorescence of Anaphyllopsis americana were examined using scanning electron microscopy. The inflorescence of A. americana consists of more than one hundred flowers arranged in recognizable spirals. Each flower has four broad tepals enclosing four stamens that are not visible prior to anthesis. The unilocular ovary contains one ovule and bears a discoid stigma. The floral primordia are first initiated on the upper portion of the inflorescence. Early during their development, the floral primordia have a circular shape. Two lateral tepals are initiated followed nearly simultaneously by two median tepals. After their initiation, each stamen is associated with a tepal of the same radius; the two lateral stamens are initiated first, directly opposite to the lateral tepals. The unilocular nature of the ovary is clearly visible during the early stages of development of the gynoecium. At dehiscence, anther wall raphides are present in anther locules and are mixed with pollen. The mode of floral development observed in Anaphylopsis is similar to that reported for Anthurium jenmanii. However, this similarity in mode of development may be linked to structural constraints rather than phylogenetic relationships. The presence of a few pentamerous flowers in the inflorescence of Anaphyllopsis suggests a possible relationship with Dracontium. This would be in accordance with recent molecular studies showing that Anaphyllopsis and Dracontium are closely related.
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1 - University of Prince Edward Island, Department of Biology, 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PE, C1A 4P3, Canada
2 - Jardin botanique de Montréal, Institut de recherche en biologie végétale, 4101 Sherbrooke Est., Montréal, QC, H1X 2B2, Canada
Keywords:
Floral development
Araceae
inflorescence.
Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Sections
Session: P
Location: Ball Room & Party Room/SUB
Date: Monday, July 28th, 2008
Time: 12:30 PM
Number: PPA003
Abstract ID:341 |
