Form-Pfs sieve-element plastids were found in
Triplaris, Ruprechtia, and
Coccoloba (
Polygonaceae) while other genera of the family and those studied from the often associated
Plumbaginaceae contain S-type sieve-element plastids. The rareness of form-Pfs plastids among the angiosperms, their similarity to the peculiar form-P3fs plastids of the
Chenopodiineae, and the comparatively small plastid diameters measured for all forms present in the
Caryophyllales, Polygonales, and
Plumbaginales suggest close relationships between these taxa. The restriction in
Polygonaceae of form-Pfs plastids to the closely allied tribes
Triplareae and
Coccolobeae is discussed with regard to both the intrafamilial and ordinal phylogeny, and also considering possible connections to the only magnoliidaean Pfs-taxon
Canella.
Key words
Caryophyllales
-
Polygonaceae
-
Triplareae
-
Coccolobeae
-
Plumbaginaceae-Sieve-element plastids - ultrastructure - systematics
Dedicated to Univ.-Prof. DrF. Ehrendorfer on the occasion of his 70th birthday.