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Floral ontogeny of Aeschynomene falcata and A. sensitiva (Leguminosae: Papilionoideae) supports molecular phylogenetic data

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Abstract

Floral ontogeny and morphology of the Leguminosae are of interest because of their potential to provide characteristics useful for phylogeny. To determine if these features corroborate the phylogenetic segregation of the section Ochopodium from Aeschynomene, this study used comparative analysis between Aeschynomene falcata and A. sensitiva, which are within the sections Ochopodium and Aeschynomene, respectively. Flower buds were analysed by use of scanning electron microscopy. Aeschynomene falcata has a unidirectional initiation of sepals from the abaxial side, and a tendency toward whorled initiation for petals and stamens. At maturity, it has a calyx tube with five lobes, a pubescent standard petal, keel petals with coherent (but not fused) margins above and below the stamens, and a carpel with a long hairy stipe. Aeschynomene sensitiva has a distinct initiation pattern of petals (1st abaxial, 2nd adaxial, and 3rd lateral) and a tendency toward whorled initiation of sepals and stamens. Overlap between sepals, petals, and antesepalous stamens initiation was observed. At maturity, A. sensitiva has a glabrous bilobed calyx and a glabrous standard petal, keel petals postgenitally fused above the stamens, and a carpel with a short and glabrous stipe. Floral ontogeny and morphology of A. falcata are very similar to those of Machaerium and Dalbergia species so far studied, corroborating the phylogenetic proximity of section Ochopodium to these genera. Important features of the floral ontogeny of A. sensitiva seem to be related to the origin of the bilobed calyx, which is shared with the rest of Aeschynomeninae except section Ochopodium, suggesting they are synapomorphies for those species.

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Acknowledgments

This work forms part of the Masters study of the first author at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, supported by a research fellowship from Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES). The research was also supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil (FAPERGS). Currently, the first author is a post-doctoral fellow of the Programa Nacional de Pós-Doutorado (PNPD) at CAPES. We thank Dra. Maria de Lourdes Abruzzi Aragão de Oliveira (Fundação Zoobotânica do Rio Grande do Sul) for help with the choice of species and during collection; Dr Paulo Eugênio A. M. de Oliveira (Universidade Federal de Uberlândia) and Dra. Beatriz Backer (University of Missouri) for critical reading of the manuscript; Dr Peter K. Endress for careful English corrections; anonymous referees who provided important suggestions for the manuscript; and the Electron Microscopy Centre of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (CME/UFRGS) for technical support and for the helpfulness of its staff.

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  1. Campus Umuarama, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Bloco 2D, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Vegetal, Umuarama, Uberlândia, MG, 38400-902, Brazil

    Diana Salles Sampaio

  2. Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves 9500, Bloco 4, Prédio 43423, Agronomia, Porto Alegre, RS, 91501-970, Brazil

    Maria Cecília de Chiara Moço & Jorge Ernesto Araujo Mariath

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  1. Diana Salles Sampaio
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  2. Maria Cecília de Chiara Moço
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  3. Jorge Ernesto Araujo Mariath
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Correspondence to Diana Salles Sampaio.

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Sampaio, D.S., de Chiara Moço, M.C. & Mariath, J.E.A. Floral ontogeny of Aeschynomene falcata and A. sensitiva (Leguminosae: Papilionoideae) supports molecular phylogenetic data. Plant Syst Evol 299, 499–513 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-012-0739-9

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