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The taxonomic value of floral characters in Rapateaceae (Poales-Monocotyledons)

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Abstract

The floral anatomy of Cephalostemon, Monotrema, Rapatea, Spathanthus, and Stegolepis was studied for taxonomic purposes. All species studied share colleters between the floral parts; sepals, petals, anthers, and style covered by an ornamented cuticle; short epidermal cells with sinuous walls on the abaxial surface of the petals; tetrasporangiate anthers with phenolic idioblasts in the epidermis; endothecium with spiral thickenings; incompletely septate ovary; and anatropous, bitegmic ovules. The floral anatomy is useful not only for characterizing the family, but also for delimiting the subfamilies and genera. Sepals with silica bodies in the epidermal cells; mature anther wall composed of epidermis, endothecium, and middle layer; absence of phenolic idioblasts in the sepals, filaments, and ovary; and stylar epidermal cells with thickened external periclinal wall support Rapateoideae. Cephalostemon and Rapatea show a great number of similarities, corroborating their close relationship indicated in the phylogenetic analyses of the family. Monotrema shares few characters with the genera of Rapateoideae, corroborating its placement in Monotremoideae. Stegolepis shows several distinctive characters, probably related to the greater diversity found in this genus.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the CNPq, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (process numbers: 141582/2007-3, 301692/2010-6, and 471837/2011-3); FAPESP, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (process numbers: 2011/18275-0); and the PROPe, Pró-Reitoria de Pesquisa da Universidade Estadual Paulista for financial support. We also thank Beatriz de Aquino Ribeiro Lisboa for logistical support in the Parque Nacional do Viruá, Dr. Julio Antonio Lombardi for his help in the fieldwork, and Dr. Thomas Stützel for the use of the scanning electron microscope of the Lehrstuhl für Evolution und Biodiversität der Pflanzen, Ruhr-Universität Bochum.

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  1. Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista, C. Postal 199, Rio Claro, SP, 13506-900, Brazil

    Aline Oriani & Vera Lucia Scatena

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  1. Aline Oriani
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  2. Vera Lucia Scatena
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Correspondence to Aline Oriani.

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Oriani, A., Scatena, V.L. The taxonomic value of floral characters in Rapateaceae (Poales-Monocotyledons). Plant Syst Evol 299, 291–303 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-012-0721-6

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