Floral morphology and evolution in Anisophylleaceae

TOBE, H. & RAVEN, P. H., 1988. Floral morphology and evolution in Anisophylleaceae. The four genera of Anisophylleaceae ( Anisophyllea, Combretocarpus, Poga , and Polygonanthus ) are very uniform in their floral structures. Characteristic floral features of the family are: flowers small (except for the female flowers of Polygonanthus ), merism nearly fixed (i.e. 3- or 4-mery), petals deeply incised (except in Polygonanthus ), ovary inferior and multi-loculed, ovules few (one or two) per carpel, styles separate, intra- and interstaminal nectariferous tissues present, and floral vasculature simple. Comparisons with related groups support the distinctiveness of Anisophylleaceae, and suggest a close affinity with both Rhizophoraceae and the Myrtales. The presence of incised petals in both groups suggests an especially close relationship between Anisophylleaceae and Rhizophoraceae, while new evidence from comparative floral morphology suggests that Anisophylleaceae occupy an intermediate position between Rhizophoraceae and Myrtales. Within the Anisophylleaceae, Poga and Polygonanthus share several synapomorphies in floral structure, while Combretocarpus is the most divergent genus in the family and is more distantly related to Poga and Polygonanthus . It is uncertain whether Anisophyllea is more closely related to Poga and Polygonanthus or Combretocarpus , because the evidence from comparative floral morphology conflicts with that from embryology; more data from other kinds of characters are needed to resolve this issue.