scholarly journals Fruit and seed micromorphology of the genus Iberis L. (Brassicaceae) in Turkey and its utility in taxonomic delimitation

2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (4) ◽  
pp. 584-592
Author(s):  
Burcu Yilmaz-Çitak ◽  
Hüseyin Dural

Background: This paper investigates whether the fruit and seed micromorphology of eight Turkish Iberis (Brassicaceae) species can be used as a further aid in their taxonomic delimitation. Questions: Are the micro-morphological characters of the fruits and seeds of Iberis useful to support the taxonomic delimitation of its species? Studied species / data description /Mathematical model: The eight species of Iberis present in Turkey were examined. The fruit and seed characteristics were obtained and statistical analysis was performed using UPGMA. Study site and dates: Fifteen localities in Turkey, from 2015 to 2019. Methods: Samples of fruit and seed of eight species of Iberis were collected, stored, and later measured and described with aid of light and scanning electron microscopies. Results: All eight species had different fruit and seed characters; particularly differing from each other with respect to fruit and seed size, seed shape and seed ornamentation. Two fruit ornamentation types were evident, smooth and striated. The seed coat surface were separated into three types: reticulate, reticulate-rugose and reticulate-papillate, being reticulate the most common. Further differences were noted for the seed surface epidermal structures, notably species had rectangular, tetragonal, or pentagonal patterning. An identification key was constructed based on a similarity analysis. Conclusions: Fruit morphology, seed dimensions, colour, and epidermal cell patterning are useful microcharacters that enabled species-level determinations in the Iberis species sampled.

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
E. ALÇITEPE ◽  
S. ERKEN ◽  
F. GÜLBAG ◽  
M.E. ÖZZAMBAK

ABSTRACT Seeds of eleven perennial Gentiana collected from Turkey were analyzed using the SEM method. Other species excluding G. septemfida, G. boissieri, G. gelida were studied for the first time. They were identified and compared in terms of seed characteristics and surface ornamentations. Major characteristics including the outer periclinal walls of testa, sculpting of inner periclinal walls, seed shape, seed and testa cell, wing cell size, thickness of testa wall and seed shape have been proposed for Turkey Gentiana. They are divided into different types, such as no wing, chalazal wing, incomplete discoid wing, complete discoid wing according to the outer periclinal walls of testa. Considering primary sculpting of seeds, irregularly striate and shallowly reticulate type is observed. Anticlinal walls of G. olivieri, G. boissieri and G. gelida are curved, while others are straight. G. lutea has the largest mean seed (4.20 x 4.40 mm), while G. cruciata (0.67 x 0.60 mm) and G. olivieri have the smallest mean seeds (0.67 x 0.67 mm). Seed micromorphology can be used together with morphological character to form classifications in studied specimens for Gentiana genus.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 92 (2) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
XIAO-FENG JIN ◽  
BING-YANG DING ◽  
YING-YING ZHOU ◽  
SHUI-HU JIN ◽  
WANG-WEI YANG

In this paper, we present a revision of the Rhododenron taipaoense complex, including R. taipaoense and eight other named species, based on literature survey, field collections and observations, inspection of herbarium specimens, statistical analysis of morphological characters, and SEM observation of seed shape and testa. We evaluated all characters that have previously been used to diagnose these species: indumentum of young shoots and abaxial surfaces of leaves; filament dimensions; style base; leaf color, size, and apex shape; flower number per inflorescence; corolla length; and length of the stamen and pistil. Cluster analysis of 146 individuals showed that individuals from different populations are interdigitated, irrespective of traditional taxonomic limits. Analysis of morphological data using principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) likewise shows a continual gradation between populations, rather than disjunctures between named species. Consequently, only one species is recognized in the present paper, and R. apricum, R. falcinellum (R. apricum var. falcinellum), R. florulentum, R. hepticum, R. piceum, R. rufulum, R. spadiceum, and R. rufoindumentum (nom. nud.) are all reduced to synonyms of R. taipaoense.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashutosh KUMAR Verma ◽  
Neelam Gautam Kumar Avinash Bharti

<p>Seed morphology of five species of<em> Plantago</em> (<em>P</em><em>. psyllium, P.ovata, P. lanceolata, P. major</em> and <em>P. arenaria</em>) was examined under scanning electron microscope. Macro- and micro-morphological characters, including seed shape, colour, size, shape of cavity, surface ornamentation and epidermal cell shape are presented.  Marked difference among the species noted with respect of considered traits and a key for the identification of the investigated taxa based on seed characters is provided. </p><p> </p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 385-393
Author(s):  
Luluah M Al Masoudi ◽  
Najat A Bukhari ◽  
Mona Al Whibi

The seed macro- and micro-morphological characters of 13 species belonging to three genera; Kickxia Dumort, Scrophularia L. and Plantago L., collected from different localities of Saudi Arabia, were studied using a Stereomicroscope and Scanning Electron Microscope for evaluating their taxonomic relationships. Three macro-morphological characters of seeds were shape, size, and color while three diagnostic micromorphological characters were seed coat sculpture, the anticlinal and periclinal wall., The seed shape seems to be specific in Plantago L. (peltate, angled) than the two other genera while the color and seed size show little importance. The Plantago L. has a specific rugose sculpture while the other two genera have either tuberculate or alveolate. So Plantago L. was possessed no affinities to Kickxia Dumor or Scrophularia L.. This observation gives extra support to the earlier taxonomic views that suggested the retention of two genera in the traditional family Scrophulariaceae and maintaining Plantago L. in a separate monogeneric family Plantaginaceae Detailed analysis of seed characters of more species is needed to clarify the systematic relationships between the three genera. A key to the identification of studied species based on seed micro- and macro-morphological characters is provide. Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 28(2): 385-393, 2021 (December)


2019 ◽  
Vol 104 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Zuluaga ◽  
Martin Llano ◽  
Ken Cameron

The subfamily Monsteroideae (Araceae) is the third richest clade in the family, with ca. 369 described species and ca. 700 estimated. It comprises mostly hemiepiphytic or epiphytic plants restricted to the tropics, with three intercontinental disjunctions. Using a dataset representing all 12 genera in Monsteroideae (126 taxa), and five plastid and two nuclear markers, we studied the systematics and historical biogeography of the group. We found high support for the monophyly of the three major clades (Spathiphylleae sister to Heteropsis Kunth and Rhaphidophora Hassk. clades), and for six of the genera within Monsteroideae. However, we found low rates of variation in the DNA sequences used and a lack of molecular markers suitable for species-level phylogenies in the group. We also performed ancestral state reconstruction of some morphological characters traditionally used for genera delimitation. Only seed shape and size, number of seeds, number of locules, and presence of endosperm showed utility in the classification of genera in Monsteroideae. We estimated ancestral ranges using a dispersal-extinction-cladogenesis model as implemented in the R package BioGeoBEARS and found evidence for a Gondwanan origin of the clade. One tropical disjunction (Monstera Adans. sister to Amydrium Schott–Epipremnum Schott) was found to be the product of a previous Boreotropical distribution. Two other disjunctions are more recent and likely due to long-distance dispersal: Spathiphyllum Schott (with Holochlamys Engl. nested within) represents a dispersal from South America to the Pacific Islands in Southeast Asia, and Rhaphidophora represents a dispersal from Asia to Africa. Future studies based on stronger phylogenetic reconstructions and complete morphological datasets are needed to explore the details of speciation and migration within and among areas in Asia.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shulin Wang ◽  
Fujiang Hou

Abstract Aims Viable seeds in herbivore dung constitute the dung seed bank, and the contribution of livestock dung to this seed bank in grazing pastures is often overlooked. Grazing season (warm and cold), seed characteristics (size and shape), and forage preference are the main factors that affect the size and composition of the dung seed bank and ultimately affect grassland ecology. However, how these three factors interact is unclear. Methods We collected yak dung as well as seeds of the common plant species from warm- and cold-season alpine meadows in northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, and explored how grazing season (warm and cold), seed characteristics (size and shape) and foraging preferences (temporary cages method) affects yak dung seedling density, richness and diversity in an alpine pasture. Results Forty-three plant species (mainly perennials) germinated from yak dung. Dung seedling density, richness, and diversity did not differ significantly between the two grazing seasons. Small to medium-sized spherical seeds (seed size < 10 mg, shape index < 0.5) had the greatest germination potential. Conclusions Yaks vary their forage preference depending on the season (phenological period), and endozoochory occurs throughout both grazing seasons. Seed shape and size directly regulate the dung seedling density, richness, and diversity. Dung seedlings increase the heterogeneity of the aboveground vegetation near the microsites of the dung pieces and therefore promote grassland patching. Our study demonstrates that grazing season, seed characteristics, and yak forage preferences affect the dung seed bank in grazing ecosystems.


Life ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 108
Author(s):  
Pedro María Alarcón-Elbal ◽  
Ricardo García-Jiménez ◽  
María Luisa Peláez ◽  
Jose Luis Horreo ◽  
Antonio G. Valdecasas

The systematics of many groups of organisms has been based on the adult stage. Morphological transformations that occur during development from the embryonic to the adult stage make it difficult (or impossible) to identify a juvenile (larval) stage in some species. Hydrachnidia (Acari, Actinotrichida, which inhabit mainly continental waters) are characterized by three main active stages—larval, deutonymph and adult—with intermediate dormant stages. Deutonymphs and adults may be identified through diagnostic morphological characters. Larvae that have not been tracked directly from a gravid female are difficult to identify to the species level. In this work, we compared the morphology of five water mite larvae and obtained the molecular sequences of that found on a pupa of the common mosquito Culex (Culex) pipiens with the sequences of 51 adults diagnosed as Arrenurus species and identified the undescribed larvae as Arrenurus (Micruracarus) novus. Further corroborating this finding, adult A. novus was found thriving in the same mosquito habitat. We established the identity of adult and deutonymph A. novus by morphology and by correlating COI and cytB sequences of the water mites at the larval, deutonymph and adult (both male and female) life stages in a particular case of ‘reverse taxonomy’. In addition, we constructed the Arrenuridae phylogeny based on mitochondrial DNA, which supports the idea that three Arrenurus subgenera are ‘natural’: Arrenurus, Megaluracarus and Micruracarus, and the somewhat arbitrary distinction of the species assigned to the subgenus Truncaturus.


2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renata Piwowarczyk

Holoparasitic genera within family Orobanchaceae are characterised by greatly reduced vegetative organs; therefore, seed micromorphology has proved to be a useful complementary taxonomic criterion. Seeds of 160 samples from 54 localities of 26 taxa of the Orobanche and Phelipanche genera occurring in central Europe, specifically from Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Slovakia, supplemented by samples from Spain, France and Ukraine, were investigated using scanning electron microscopy. Thirteen quantitative or qualitative morphological characters of seeds were analysed. The following three types of periclinal wall sculpture of seeds were identified: veined and fibrillar in Phelipanche; with oval or elliptic perforations (pitted) in almost all species of Orobanche; with outer periclinal wall smooth, granular or rugged (very rarely visibly pitted), impeding vision of the inner one, occurring only in O. gracilis Sm. and O. coerulescens Stephan in Willd. The influence of different hosts on the features of seeds of eight species is also presented, as well as relationships between seed morphology and taxonomic classification, including problematic taxa. The best diagnostic features include type of ornamentation of the periclinal wall, perforation diameter (in pitted sculpture), fibrillar diameter (in fibrillar sculpture) and width of anticlinal walls. Size and shape of the seeds and cells and the presence of median troughs are variable; however, these features can be helpful when using larger samples. The usefulness of micromorphological studies on seeds of Orobanche and Phelipanche is demonstrated.


PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e11848
Author(s):  
Gustavo Hassemer ◽  
Elliot M. Gardner ◽  
Nina Rønsted

High-throughput sequencing, when combined with taxonomic expertise, is a powerful tool to refine and advance taxonomic classification, including at the species level. In the present work, a new species, Plantago campestris, is described out of the P. commersoniana species complex, based on phylogenomic and morphological evidence. The main morphological characters that distinguish the new species from P. commersoniana are the glabrous posterior sepals and the slightly broader leaves. The new species is known from only three localities, all in natural high-elevation grasslands in Paraná and Santa Catarina states, southern Brazil. According to the IUCN criteria new species should be assessed as Endangered (EN). We present field photographs of P. campestris and related species, and we provide an identification key to the species previously included within the circumscription of P. commersoniana.


2014 ◽  
Vol 147 (4) ◽  
pp. 425-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brittney M. Hoemsen ◽  
Iain D. Phillips ◽  
Dale W. Parker ◽  
Aaron J. Bell ◽  
Jordyn A. Bergsveinson ◽  
...  

AbstractStreams draining the Cypress Hills support unique and understudied macroinvertebrate communities in Saskatchewan, Canada. Here, we report the discovery of a species of caddisfly new to the Cypress Hills and Saskatchewan,Neophylax splendensDenning (Trichoptera: Thremmatidae). Larvae were collected early in May 2012, and are found to enter pre-pupal diapause in mid-June until mid-September. Larvae were identified asN. splendensby morphological characters and verified with genetic analysis. Its occurrence strengthens the biogeographical link between the montane regions in British Columbia, Canada and Utah, United States of America with the southwest corner of Saskatchewan. This study highlights the importance of seasonal sampling, resolute species level identifications in biological surveys and the use of genetic analyses to obtain this level of identification.


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