Nutlet micromorphology of Turkish Stachys sect. Eriostomum (Lamiaceae) and its systematic implications

Abstract

Th e nutlet morphology of 32 taxa of Stachys sect. Eriostomum (Lamiaceae) has been studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and a detailed description of the nutlet morphological features of all examined taxa is provided. We found some groups within Stachys sect. Eriostomum that present nutlet micromorphological characters that appear to be useful in the species-level taxonomy. Th e basic shape of nutlets in most taxa is obovoid or Ϯ rounded and the size ranged between 1.5 and 3.0 mm in length and between 1.0 and 2.5 mm in width. Five basic types of sculpturing can be distinguished: reticulate -tuberculate, reticulate -smooth, reticulate -slightly furrowed, colliculate -tuberculate, colliculatesmooth. Th e reticulate type is the most common among the studied species. Th e colliculate type is characteristic for S. minor and S. cretica subsp. vacillans. Subsection Spectabiles with reticulate-smooth/slightly furrowed sculpturing is easily distinguished from the other subsections. In addition, nutlet micromorphology is useful for separating the subspecies of S. cretica . Th e systematic and biological implications of the nutlet characteristics are briefl y discussed.

Stachys gaziantepensis (Lamiaceae), a New Species from South Anatolia, Turkey

“…The endemic taxa are mostly eastern Mediterranean elements. Turkey is one of the richest countries in the world in interspecific and infraspecific diversity of Stachys [17][18][19].…”

Nutlet micromorphology and its taxonomic utility in Lamium L. (Lamiaceae)

“…According to the study conducted on a group of about 5,000 species of plants, a very valuable taxonomic criterion at the level of species, order, and family is the sculpturing of the seed surface (Barthlott and Voit 1979;Barthlott 1981). The usefulness of mericarp morphology, anatomy and pericarp structure in taxonomy was also proved by numerous studies carried out in Lamiaceae at various taxonomical levels (Husain et al 1990;Demissew and Harley 1992;Ryding 1992Ryding , 1994Ryding , 1995Marin et al 1994Marin et al , 1996Oran 1996;Budantsev and Lobova 1997;Jamzad et al 2000;Guerin 2005;Moon and Hong 2006;Salmaki et al 2008;Kahraman et al 2011;Satıl et al 2012). For instance, Marin et al (1994) and Ryding (1995) concluded that nutlet characters were potentially useful within Lamiaceae at the level of section, genus and species.…”

“…For instance, Marin et al (1994) and Ryding (1995) concluded that nutlet characters were potentially useful within Lamiaceae at the level of section, genus and species. Studies on Stachys L. showed that nutlet micromorphological characters appear to be useful in distinguishing infrageneric groups (Demissew and Harley 1992) and in the species-level taxonomy (Satıl et al 2012). In Salvia L., one of the largest genera of Lamiaceae, it has been shown that gross morphology of nutlets and their sculpturing pattern are variable and taxonomically useful at a species level (Oran 1996;Kahraman et al 2011).…”

Nutlet micromorphology of Iranian Nepeta (Lamiaceae) species

“…Several studies have shown that nutlet micromorphology and seed surface anatomy may be useful for taxonomic classification of flowering plants (Satil et al 2012, Yu et al 2012, Jin et al 2014. Nutlet micromorphology is also important to distinguish between Nepata species (Budantsev and Lobova 1997, Jamzad et al 2000, Kaya and Dirmenci 2008, Hassan and Dar 2012.…”