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Comparative fruit development in some Euphorbiaceae and Phyllanthaceae

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Abstract

Euphorbiaceae s. str. and Phyllanthaceae were earlier components of Euphorbiaceae. This separation was mainly based on molecular data and also on morphological characteristics. Nevertheless, the structure and development of fruits are poorly investigated in these families and considering this, fruits (pericarp and seed) of Euphorbia hyssopifolia L., Croton glandulosus L. (Euphorbiaceae), Phyllanthus niruri L. and Phyllanthus tenellus Roxb. (Phyllanthaceae) were structurally studied to see in what respects they are similar or different. The Euphorbiaceae schizocarps present two meristems (adaxial and subadaxial) in the ovary wall, but the adaxial meristem is entirely lacking in Phyllanthus fruits. The seeds have an exotegmen with Malpighian palisade cells in Euphorbiaceae species and a short palisade in Phyllanthus. Some special structural features, such as nucellar beak, anatropous ovules and schizocarp fruits were found in all the species and constitute a unique combination. From the present results, it appears that there is no significant difference in fruit and seed development between the studied Euphorbiaceae and Phyllanthaceae.

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Acknowledgments

We thank CNPq (National Council of Scientific and Technological Development, Brazil) for the support granted to the accomplishment of this study and Dr. Inês Cordeiro (Institute of Botany, Brazil) for species identification.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, 277, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, CEP 05508-090, Brazil

    Karina Bertechine Gagliardi

  2. Departamento de Biologia, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Avenida Colombo, 5790, Maringá, PR, CEP 87020-900, Brazil

    Luiz Antonio de Souza & Adriana Lenita Meyer Albiero

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  1. Karina Bertechine Gagliardi
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  2. Luiz Antonio de Souza
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  3. Adriana Lenita Meyer Albiero
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Correspondence to Karina Bertechine Gagliardi.

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Gagliardi, K.B., de Souza, L.A. & Albiero, A.L.M. Comparative fruit development in some Euphorbiaceae and Phyllanthaceae. Plant Syst Evol 300, 775–782 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-013-0918-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-013-0918-3

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