Diversity and evolution of stem structure in Eleocharis (Cyperaceae)

Abstract

Eleocharis (Cyperaceae) includes more than 300 species of perennial or annual herbs, frequently found on poorly drained soils. The species are morphologicaly similar, and the taxonomy is difficult because their vegetative and reproductive structures are very reduced. Previous study on the stem architecture in the subgenus Limnochloa showed that anatomical features help in the interpretation of the evolution, taxonomy and ecological aspects of the group. Our objectives were to add new characters from the stem (= culm) structure, to explore the characters in a greater number of Eleocharis species, representatives of the other subgenera, and add these data in a new phylogenetic analysis with molecular data. The study covered 68 species obtained from herbaria and fixed material. In addition to the stem architecture, the internal organization of the tissues, the cross-section format, the presence or absence of stretched cells in aerenchyma air gaps and the plant size were included in the morphological analysis. Our data confirm that spongy aerenchyma pattern is the ancestral condition while the mixed and septate patterns occurred independent and punctually. Only the cross-section format was variable among specimens while the other characters were uniform and relevant for taxonomic use.

Key words
anatomy of aquatic plant; culm anatomy; evolution of aerenchyma; phylogeny; reconstruction of ancestral state