Inflorescence morphology and development in the basal rosid lineage Vitales

Abstract

This review summarizes inflorescence developmental morphology in the grape order Vitales within a phylogenetic context. Inflorescences in the shrubby Leeaceae are terminal thyrses that appear leaf-opposed once renewal growth begins. Plants of the Vitaceae are mainly tendrilled lianas and form five well-defined clades. Inflorescences develop from the unique, non-leafy, uncommitted primordium which arises opposite a leaf on the flank of the shoot apical meristem, and may mature into an inflorescence, tendril, or a combination of the two. The Ampelopsis-Rhoicissus clade, Cissus antarctica group and Yua have a tendril/inflorescence, with cymose branching on the inflorescence axis. Inflorescences in the core Cissus clade and Cyphostemma-Tetrastigma clade arise on a compressed axillary shoot, and leaf-opposed tendrils arise on the main shoot, resulting in different branch orders. In Parthenocissus, tendrils are leaf-opposed on long shoots, and inflorescences are leaf-opposed on axillary branches on short shoots. In the Ampelocissus-Vitis clade, the leaf-opposed tendrils and thyrse inflorescences are of the same branching order, and are often combined. Terminal inflorescences such as in Leeaceae are common in angiosperms, in contrast to the unique leaf-opposed tendril/inflorescence of Vitaceae. The further separation of the tendrils and inflorescences onto different orders of branching (core Cissus, Cyphostemma-Tetrastigma), or separate short and long shoots (Parthenocissus), have allowed each component to optimize its own function. The Ampelocissus-Vitis clade, however, has returned to a thyrse inflorescence, which may allow for larger or unusual lamellate inflorescences (Pterisanthes), and has reunited tendrils and inflorescences. Thus, each clade has developed its own set of inflorescence morphology.

Structure and ontogeny of successive cambia in Tetrastigma (Vitaceae), the host plants of Rafflesiaceae

“…At present, with the advent of modern phylogenetics and a better understanding of the relationships among lineages (e.g., Wen et al, , ; Ren et al, ; Liu et al, ; Habib et al, ; Lu et al, ), it is now important to revisit the morpho‐anatomical diversity within this economically and ecologically important family in search for morphological, developmental and anatomical characters that potentially support lineages/clades delimited by DNA sequence data. From this new perspective, it will be possible to establish morpho‐anatomical synapomorphies within the various lineages in the family (Gerrath et al, ; Wen et al, ). Here we provide the first step towards this anatomical reappraisal, starting by discussing the presence of a cambial variant known as successive cambia in Tetrastigma , and describing in detail its ontogeny in Tetrastigma voinierianum (Baltet) Gagnep.…”

Evolutionary trends in Tetrastigma (Vitaceae): Morphological diversity and taxonomic implications

“…The inflorescences of Tetrastigma have been characterized as axillary, pseudo‐terminal, or leaf‐opposed (Chen et al, ). However, Gerrath et al () suggested that the inflorescence in the CCT clade ( Cayratia s.s., Causonis, Cyphostemma , and Tetrastigma ) is leaf‐opposed on a compressed axillary shoot, based on evidence from inflorescence development in T. pubinerve Merr. & Chun and T. voinierianum Pierre ex Gagnep.…”

Evolution, development, and genetics of floral display—form, size, and arrangement

“…Despite its importance to angiosperm diversification, our knowledge of the evolutionary patterns and the underlying developmental and genetic basis of the floral display is still limited. In the modern times, with the advent of integrating approaches among phylogenetics, ecology, molecular genetics, and development, plant biologists have begun to shed lights on the evolutionary patterns, the underlying driving forces, and the developmental and molecular basis of the floral diversity in some angiosperm lineages (e.g., Gerrath et al, ; Kulbaba et al, ; Liu et al, ; Nikolov & Davis, ; Schrager‐Lavelle et al, ; Zhang et al, ; see review by Ma et al, , this issue).…”

“…Most works presented at the symposium were included in this special issue of Journal of Systematics and Evolution . This issue includes both reviews and research papers reporting works on diverse angiosperm lineages, from dicots (Gerrath et al, ; Kulbaba et al, ; Liu et al, ; Nikolov & Davis, ; Zhang et al, ) to monocots (Schrager‐Lavelle et al, ), from autotrophs (Gerrath et al, ; Kulbaba et al, ; Liu et al, ; Schrager‐Lavelle et al, ; Zhang et al, ) to heterotrophs (Nikolov & Davis, ), and from ecological (Kulbaba et al, ) to morphological and molecular aspects (Gerrath et al, ; Liu et al, ; Nikolov & Davis, ; Schrager‐Lavelle et al, ; Zhang et al, ).…”

“…Together, the review tackled the mystery of the evolution of this world's largest flower, which evolved from autotrophic plants with tiny flowers. Gerrath et al () reviewed the inflorescence characteristics of various lineages of the grape order Vitales. They compared these characteristics on a phylogenetic framework and concluded that each major clade of the Vitales had evolved a unique set of inflorescence morphology, including the homologous tendril characters (also see Zhang et al, ).…”