Flower structure and development of Araceae compared with alismatids and Acoraceae

Floral development of Araceae is compared with that of other basal monocots such as alismatids and Acorus. Flowers of Araceae, Acorus and several alismatids with spicate inflorescences lack a subtending floral bract. In Araceae and some Potamogetonaceae the subtending floral bract is suppressed, and not incorporated into the perianth. This differs from Acorus and some alismatids, where a bract-like median abaxial tepal is formed in the outer perianth whorl (i.e. developmental merger of flower-subtending bract and tepal). In Araceae, Acorus and spicate alismatids flowers develop unidirectionally, correlated with bract reduction. Araceae lack unidirectionality in the outer perianth whorl, in contrast to Acorus and Juncaginaceae. The transition from trimerous to dimerous flowers in Orontium (Araceae) is by accentuation of the unidirectionality of the inner perianth. The gynoecium of Araceae and Acorus is synascidiate. However, in most Araceae the synascidiate portion is shorter than in Acorus, and a distinct basal elongation phase as in Acorus and Juncaginaceae was not found. The perianth and androecium of Lysichiton and Symplocarpus and the gynoecium of Gymnostachys differ from other Araceae and resemble those in Potamogetonaceae. Developmental findings support the isolation of Acorus from Araceae, and show similarities of Araceae with Potamogetonaceae and of Acorus with Juncaginaceae. (C) 2001 The Linnean Society of London.