Abstract Detail

Celebrating More Than Three Decades of Research in Nymphaeales: A Colloquium Honoring Ed Schneider

Les, Donald H. [1].

The role of anatomical data in the systematic study of water lilies (Nymphaeales).

Although systematic controversies pervade many angiosperm groups, the water lilies (Nymphaeales; Nymphaeaceae) have been particularly recalcitrant to classification at many levels. Even basic distinctions such as their dicotyledonous or monocotyledonous affinity remained contentious until well into the 20^th century. Other discrepancies have included the circumscription of Nymphaeales (three to six distinct families), the delimitation of Nymphaeaceae (five to eight genera), the relationships among the genera, and the phylogenetic position of the group among other angiosperms. Anatomical data were first brought to address these issues in the early 19^th century by A. P. De Candolle, C. F. Mirbel, and others. Significant advances in the clarification of water lily anatomy were made in the mid-20^th century by M. F. Moseley, who began a series of detailed investigation on the floral anatomy of Nymphaea and Nuphar. These studies were continued and expanded by E. L. Schneider, who eventually contributed dozens of papers on water lily anatomy over nearly four decades of research on the group. By raising the standards of data interpretation to an unprecedentedly high level, these anatomical studies of water lilies have significantly facilitated important research projects. Examples include an intergeneric phylogenetic analysis of Nymphaeales, wherein the anatomical data comprised almost half of the non-molecular data analyzed. In other cases, anatomical features such as tracheid microstructure, have been used to evaluate higher level associations among members of Nymphaeaceae, Cabombaceae, and Hydatellaceae, the latter group recently implicated as a possible water lily relative. Although much emphasis has been placed on molecular data for phylogenetic investigations, anatomical data possess a high ratio of informative to uninformative characters and provide an excellent resource for use in testing those hypotheses by means of an independent data set. Such comparisons are sorely needed, especially for early diverging lineages like water lilies, where long branches generated from molecular data potentially impose analytical uncertainties.

1 - University Of Connecticut, Department Of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, 75 N. Eagleville Road, Unit 3043, Storrs, CT, 06269-3043, USA

Keywords:
Angiosperm phylogeny
Aquatic plants
Non-molecular data.

Presentation Type: Colloquium Presentations
Session: C3
Location: Salon 12/The Shaw Conference Centre
Date: Tuesday, July 28th, 2015
Time: 9:00 AM
Number: C3002
Abstract ID:185
Candidate for Awards:None