Seedling diversity, development and evolution in Bromeliaceae Juss. (Poales)

Clicks: 4
ID: 331638
2026
Free PDF
Article Quality & Performance Metrics
Overall Quality
Not rated
Combines reader engagement with the AI quality analysis. This article has not been analysed, so there is no overall score — reader engagement is measured and shown alongside.
AI Quality Assessment
Not analyzed
Readership in this journal
Emerging

Ranked #245 of 246 articles by views in Annals of botany

Most read Least read

Bar heights use a square-root scale. Only the 120 most-read articles are drawn; the journal has 246 in total.

Mint this article as an NFT
Not yet minted

Create a permanent, verifiable on-chain record of this article on the Scimatic Network. The NFT is held in your Journament account, and you can withdraw it to your own wallet at any time.

5 SUSD one-off · no wallet required
Sign in to mint
Abstract
Abstract Background and Aims Understanding post-seminal development is essential for species conservation and provides key insights into reproductive biology and macroevolution. Despite their remarkable structural diversity among monocots, seedlings remain an understudied developmental stage, although they are critical for juvenile sporophyte survival and establishment. In Bromeliaceae, one of the major adaptive radiations of monocots, knowledge of seedling development remains fragmented and taxonomically biased. This study comparatively characterizes the ontogeny and morphoanatomy of bromeliad seedlings, providing the first broad phylogenetic assessment for the family. Methods A total of 33 species from 16 genera representing seven subfamilies were analyzed, including Brocchinia, the sister genus to all other bromeliads, as well as rare, endemic, and threatened lineages, such as Hechtioideae and Navioideae, that had never been sampled before. Post-seminal development was monitored using light and scanning electron microscopy. Characters were optimized on a consensus supertree using maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood. Key Results We described and compared 31 informative morphological, micromorphological, and anatomical characters of the eophylls, cotyledons, and roots. Our analyses indicate that a compact, early-photosynthetic cotyledon and peltate trichomes are plesiomorphic features of the family. In contrast, a laminar cotyledonary hypophyll and uniseriate glandular trichomes represent derived conditions shared by most lineages. Anatomical features, including the presence of a water-storage hypodermis, stomatal position and variation in sclerenchyma associated with vascular bundles, also show taxonomic and ecological significance. Conclusions Through a phylogenetically representative analysis of seedling ontogeny, anatomy, and micromorphology, including previously unsampled taxa, we provide the first evolutionary assessment of this life stage across major lineages of Bromeliaceae. Our findings establish a novel comparative framework for future investigations of seedling development and evolution in Bromeliaceae and other tropical monocots, while expanding current understanding of the evolution of adaptive strategies associated with vegetative organs in the family.
Reference Key
openalex_W7220836379 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Vitória Estivalet Machado, Jordano D T de Carvalho, Elton M. C. Leme, Ivón M. Ramírez‐Morillo, Jorge E. A. Mariath, Sofia Aumond Kuhn
Journal Annals of botany
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/aob/mcag326
URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcag326
Keywords Keywords not found

Citations

No citations found. To add a citation, contact the admin at info@scimatic.org

Comments

No comments yet. Be the first to comment on this article.