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Unique Morphology of Sarcobatus baileyi Male Inflorescence and Its Botanical Implications.
- Source :
-
Plants (Basel, Switzerland) [Plants (Basel)] 2023 May 08; Vol. 12 (9). Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 May 08. - Publication Year :
- 2023
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Abstract
- A typical angiosperm flower is usually bisexual, with entomophilous plants having four whorls of organs: the calyx, corolla, stamens, and gynoecium. The flower is usually colorful, and thus, distinct from the dull-colored reproductive organs of gymnosperms; however, this formula is not applicable to all flowers. For example, the male flower of Sarcobatus baileyi is reduced into only a single stamen. Such unusual flowers are largely poorly documented and underappreciated. To fill such a lacuna in our knowledge of the male reproductive organ of S. baileyi , we collected and studied materials of the male inflorescence of S. baileyi (Sarcobataceae). The outcomes of our Micro-CT (micro computed tomography), SEM (scanning electron microscopy), and paraffin sectioning indicate that a male inflorescence of S. baileyi is more comparable with the cone of conifers; its male flowers lack the perianth, are directly attached to a central axis and sheltered by peltate indusium-like shields. To understand the evolutionary logic underlying such a rarely seen male inflorescence, we also studied and compared it with a female cone of Cupressus sempervirens . Although the genera Sarcobatus and Cupressus belong to two distinct major plant groups (angiosperms and gymnosperms), they apply the same propagule-protecting strategy.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 2223-7747
- Volume :
- 12
- Issue :
- 9
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 37176975
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12091917