BLARER, ALBERT1*, DANIEL L. NICKRENT2, and PETER K. ENDRESS1. 1Institute of Systematic Botany, University of Zurich, Zollikerstr. 107, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland; 2Department of Plant Biology and Center for Systematic Biology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA 62901-6509. - Comparative floral anatomy of Apodanthes, Pilostyles, and Berlinianche (Apodanthaceae).
Apodanthes, Berlinianche, and Pilostyles form the
parasitic plant family Apodanthaceae. This is the first study on
floral anatomy of Apodanthes and Berlinianche, and the
first comparative study of all three genera of Apodanthaceae. Among
"Rafflesiales s.lat." Apodanthaceae include genera with
solitary flowers less than a centimeter in diameter, whereas other
families of "Rafflesiales s.lat." include taxa with flowers
up to several tens of centimeters in diameter, or several flowers per
inflorescence instead of solitary flowers, or a superior ovary.
Gynoecium structures of all three genera of Apodanthaceae share a
half-inferior unilocular ovary and several simple, diffuse, more or
less protruding parietal placentae and ovules with two well developed
integuments.
Key words: Apodanthaceae, floral anatomy, floral morphology, Rafflesiales