J Syst Evol ›› 2007, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (2): 191-206.DOI: 10.1360/aps06015

• Research Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Comparative wood anatomy of Schisandraceae and its systematic significance

1 2YANG Zhi-Rong, 1LIN Qi*   

  1. 1(State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China)

    2(Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)linqi@ibcas.ac.cn
  • Received:2006-01-26 Published:2007-03-18

Abstract: The wood anatomy of 21 collections of 7 species within Kadsura Kaempf. ex Juss. and 14 collections of 8 species of Schisandra Michx., representing a large proportion of two genera in Schisandraceae, was investigated using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Several features in the secondary xylem, such as types of vessel elements, arrangement of vessel-ray pitting, types of ray and shape of the body ray cells, show consistent characteristics at the family level, which support the view that Schisandraceae represents a monophyletic group. The antiquity of Schisandraceae is supported by the presence of single vessel, scalariform perforation plates with many bars, scalariform vessel pitting and heterogeneous rays. A few apomorphic character states, such as simple perforation plates, helical thickenings in secondary walls of vessels and septate fibers, can be found in Schisandraceae, which make this family a mosaic with both plesiomorphic and apomorphic character states. A UPGMA analysis shows that species of Kadsura and Schisandra overlap in a dendrogram, which is congruent with the results from molecular data and indicates that the two genera are closely related, perhaps originating from the same ancestor. The wood anatomy evidence also confirms a close relationship between Schisandraceae and Illiciaceae, and does not support separation of Schisandraceae from Illiciales as Schisandrales.

Key words: Illiciales, Schisandraceae, Illiciaceae, Schisandra, Kadsura, vessel, UPGMA