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Comparative seed morphology of the tribe Spiraeeae (Amygdaloideae: Rosaceae)

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Summary

Variation in seed macro- and micromorphology of nine genera in Rosaceae tribe Spiraeeae, including the rare Korean endemic genus Pentactina, was examined using stereo and scanning electron microscopy to evaluate the diagnostic value of this variation for intergeneric/specific identification, and to facilitate future systematic studies. All genera in the tribe had follicles, except Holodiscus which only had achenes. Various seed morphological characteristics were identified, both among and within genera. Some characteristics (e.g. length : width ratio, texture and shape) provided useful information for taxonomic studies of Spiraeeae. Four types of testa ornamentation were recognised: Type I-a, simple reticulate (Petrophytum, Sibiraea, Spiraea and Xerospiraea); I-b, reticulate-foveate (Aruncus and Luetkea); Type II, reticulate-rugose (Holodiscus); Type III, reticulate-colliculate (Kelseya) and Type IV, striate-rugose (Pentactina). Moreover, the phenogram from a cluster analysis using UPGMA also represented four groups. Seed morphological characteristics strongly support the current molecular phylogenetic position of Pentactina as distinct from Spiraea, contrary to previous classifications. Moreover, Pentactina possessed a combination of palynological data and testa ornamentation characteristics within the Spiraeeae to confirm its generic status.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the directors of the herbaria F, KH, KHUS, KIOM, NY and SKK for permission to examine the specimens. Two anonymous reviewers and the associate editor Dr R. M. Bateman, whose constructive comments and corrections improved the manuscript, are also acknowledged. We are also grateful to our colleagues Drs Moon, H.-K., Kong, M.-J. and Oak, M.-K. for their assistance in general and to Dr Yang, S. for assisting with the phenetic analysis. The study was partly supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea, funded by the Ministry of Education (grant numbers NRF-2015R1D1A1A01058462).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, 02447, Republic of Korea

    Jun-Ho Song, Hee-Seon Roh & Suk-Pyo Hong

  2. Herbal Medicine Resources Research Centre, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Naju, 58245, Republic of Korea

    Jun-Ho Song

  3. Office of Research Facilities, Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul, 04310, Republic of Korea

    Hee-Seon Roh

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  1. Jun-Ho Song
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Song, JH., Roh, HS. & Hong, SP. Comparative seed morphology of the tribe Spiraeeae (Amygdaloideae: Rosaceae). Kew Bull 75, 14 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-020-9871-9

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