Endocarps of menispermaceous plants in Taiwan

Abstract

BackgroundThe fruits of the family Menispermaceae are drupes, and because the drupe endocarps are morphologically diverse, they are generally used to classify members of this family. There is a lack of detailed knowledge of Menispermaceae endocarps in Taiwan. Therefore, in this study, the endocarps of seven genera and 14 species were dissected, and their morphological characters were photographed and described. Furthermore, a key for the 14 species based on the endocarps features, as well as a key of the studied genera, is proposed.ResultsThe endocarp types comprise a straight shape in Tinospora dentata Diels and a horseshoe shape in the other 13 species. In general, the genus Cyclea bears two dorsal crests with 16 small spines, although there are about 25 spines in Cyclea insularis (Makino) Hatusima. The genus Cocculus has a dorsal convex endocarp with a subannular. In Taiwan, the endocarp of Sinomenium acutum (Thunb.) Rehder & E. H. Wilson has up to 26 transverse ridges, without spines on the crest and might be categorized under the genus Menispermum. Transverse endocarp ridges are found in Stephania cephalantha Hayata and Stephania tetrandra S. Moore, whereas transverse endocarp strips are found in Stephania japonica (Thunb.) Miers, Stephania longa Lour. and Stephania merrillii Diels. ConclusionWe believe that the descriptions and photographs of the endocarp traits of T. dentata, which is endemic to Taiwan, will provide more evidence for further studies on extant and fossil species.

New Eocene fossil fruits and leaves of Menispermaceae from the central Tibetan Plateau and their biogeographic implications

“…Measurements were made using ImageJ software (Rasband, 2016). Morphological comparisons of fossil endocarps with modern ones were made using the relevant literature (Jacques, 2009a;Herrera et al, 2011;Wefferling et al, 2013;Yang & Chen, 2016). Comparisons of the fossil leaves with modern ones were made using JSTOR (https://plants.jstor.org), the National Plant Specimen Resource Center (http://www.cvh.ac.cn/) databases and in particular with the Cleared Leaf Image Database (http://clearedleavesdb.org, Table S1).…”

Phytogeographic implications of a fossil endocarp of Diploclisia (Menispermaceae) from the Miocene of eastern China

“…Rehder; (l) Tinospora dentata Diels. C, condyle; Ch, chamber; DC, dorsal crest; F, foramen; G, groove; K, keel; L, limb; LC, lateral crest; O, ornamentation; RR, radial ribs; S, spine, Source : Panels (d,h–l) modified from Yang and Chen (2016) [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]…”

“…Diploclisia used to be included in Cocculus DC., so one might expect the endocarps to resemble those of Diploclisia . However, Cocculus endocarps are very thick, almost spheroidal, and not compressed/wedge‐shaped as in Diploclisia (Forman, 1974; Yang & Chen, 2016). Moreover, most Cocculus endocarps have a papillate ornamentation [ C. carolinus (L.) DC., C. laurifolius DC., C. orbiculatus (L.) DC.…”

Erratum to: Endocarps of menispermaceous plants in Taiwan

“…In our recent article (Yang and Chen 2016 ), we regret that we did not acknowledge that Appendix 2 and Appendix 3 were adapted from Wefferling et al ( 2013 ). In addition, some sentences in the Introduction and Discussion of our article were taken from Wefferling et al ( 2013 ) to describe the menispermaceous endocarps that we studied in Taiwan.…”