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(American Journal of Botany. 2005;92:752-760.)
© 2005 Botanical Society of America, Inc.

Structure and Development

Floral developmental evidence for the systematic position of Batis (Bataceae)1

Louis P. Ronse De Craene2

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR, UK

ABSTRACT

Molecular phylogenies have associated Bataceae with Salvadoraceae and Koeberliniaceae in an expanded Brassicales. Despite a long taxonomic history, the knowledge of the flower of Batis is still fragmentary. The floral development of pistillate and staminate inflorescences of Batis maritima was investigated to understand homologies of floral structures and to discuss the phylogenetic position of Bataceae within the Brassicales. There has been considerable controversy in the past about the male flower, especially on the nature of the petals and the tubular structure enclosing the flower. Developmental evidence confirms that the male flower is built on a basic tetramerous bauplan and that the tubular structure is derived from four congenitally fused sepal lobes with the three anterior lobes highly reduced. The development of petals and stamens is unidirectional, and the androecium initiates the median stamens before the lateral stamens, suggesting the existence of two whorls. The pistillate flowers are reduced to the bare minimum with two transversal carpels enclosed by a bract. Partial inflorescences function as a swollen dispersal unit. The vestigial stipules probably represent colleters and are not homologous with true stipules. Several characters of Batis are reminiscent of the Brassicaceae, although a link with Salvadoraceae and Koeberliniaceae cannot be excluded.

Key Words: Brassicales • dioecy • floral ontogeny • Gyrostemonaceae • flower structure • phylogeny • reduction • stipules






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