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Abstract Detail



Systematics Section/ASPT

Reginato, Marcelo [1], Michelangeli, Fabian [2].

The diversity and evolution of flower morphology in Leandra s.str. (Melastomataceae, Miconieae).

Leandra s.str. is part of the neotropical Miconieae (Melastomataceae) and with ca. 200 species is one of the most diverse lineages in this tribe. The clade is almost restricted to eastern Brazil, with many individual species as local endemics. The species are usually shrubs, occasionally treelets and epiphytes, and are associated with a series of environments. Most of the diversity is found in forested areas, but they are also conspicuous on high altitude vegetation (“Campos de Altitude”), while some are found exclusively in the “Campos Rupestres”. The systematics of this group, scarcely challenged till very recently, is still under development and for many species the only published data is the description from the 19th century. Here, we intent to describe Leandra s.str.’s flower diversity on a continuous framework and analyze it in the light of a molecular phylogenetic hypothesis. The latter consist on a species tree that includes ca. 100 taxa, based on five markers (ca. 3500 bp). The morphological dataset includes: individual size measurements and shape’s scores (from Elliptical Fourier Analysis) for hypanthia, petals and stamens. This dataset also includes PCA scores of these structures, as a “flower morphology” trait. In this study we are trying to assess whether there is evidence of: correlation among these characters, convergence between species, and association of these traits with elevation or habitat. Further, we address whether these characters might be useful on a systematic scheme and discuss their putative history. Leandra s.str. flowers present a great diversity of sizes and shapes. In the anthers the main variation is related to whether they are bent versus straight and narrowed versus wide; in the petals variation centers around whether they are narrowed versus wide and the apex acuminate or not; and in the hypanthia to the degree where the ovary is superior and whether they are narrowed versus wide. Noteworthy, is the correlation between the degree of hypanthium/ovary fusion and anther tapering. In general for Melastomataceae is assumed that ovary correlates with fruit type, but all Leandra s.str. share the same fruit type and the ovary indeed varies from fully superior to fully inferior. We found association between some traits and altitude, but it seems that there is no association of any trait with a particular habitat.

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1 - The New York Botanical Garden, 2900 Southern Blvd., Bronx, NY, 10458, United States
2 - The New York Botanical Garden, Institute of Systematic Botany, 2900 Southern Blvd., Bronx, NY, 10458, USA

Keywords:
Melastomataceae
Atlantic Forest
floral evolution
Elliptical Fourier Analysis.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 39
Location: Elmwood/Riverside Hilton
Date: Wednesday, July 31st, 2013
Time: 11:30 AM
Number: 39012
Abstract ID:374
Candidate for Awards:None


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