An approach to the diversity of endothecial thickenings in Solanaceae

CARRIZO GARCÍA C.

FLORA

ELSEVIER GMBH

Año: 2002 vol. 197 p. 214 - 223

0367-2530

Summary The special features of the endothecial thickenings in 59 species of 44 Solanaceae genera were studied and four different thickening types were distinguished: annular, helical, and reticulate ribs, and palmate baseplate. Some variations can be observed due to the presence of branched ribs and differences in the ribs width and number per cell. In general, each species shows a single thickening type, although there may be a range of variation within a single pattern in some cases. It is also possible to find species in which two types coexist. The coincidence among the thickening types and the different hierarchical taxa is analysed. Even when a possible scheme of structural relationships can be deduced, it is difficult to elucidate the polarisation of the types of thickening due to the disagreements in the suprageneric classification.