Morphologically diverse gynoecia in the Annonaceae reflect five strategies to overcome the limitations of apocarpy in the family: details of the family-wide study illustrated here provide anatomical evidence showing the presence of (A) suprastylar extragynoecial compitum (EGC), (B) ovarian EGC, and (C) receptacular EGC, as well as histological and ontogenetic evidence revealing (D) syncarpy and (E) increased number of ovules per carpel, with inference of their phylogenetic occurrence and potential reproductive significance.

Cover of the May 2025 issue (Volume 63 Number 3) of JSE, the Journal of Systematics and Evolution, featuring a close-up morphological photograph of the gynoecium of a custard-apple (Annonaceae) flower.

The stunning cover of our May issue celebrates the work of Chen et al., who explore gynoecial #diversity in the Annonaceae and the #evolution of functional traits that overcome the limitations of #apocarpy. Find the featured article here:
doi.org/10.1111/jse....
#PlantScience #EvoDevo

Photo of a hand holding a large fruit comprised of four red carpels that have opened to reveal large black seeds attached along the margins of the carpels. Photo by Scott Zona CC BY-NC 2.

Like the subject of yesterday’s post, the flowers of Sterculia tantraensis (#Malvaceae) have united carpels, but the carpels separate & open at maturity. Each carpel is a follicle. The black seeds against red follicles surely must attract birds. #apocarpy #dispersal #Botany #PlantScience 🌾🧪

Photo of a large, single flower. The petals are showy, large, & pink. The stamens are many and surround the carpels, which are green and separate. The stigmatic crest is pink. Photo by Scott Zona CC BY-NC 2.

Peony flowers are perfect examples of #apocarpy, as their carpels are large and easy to see. This is Paeony mascula, whose 3 free carpels are visible, even without dissecting the flower. It's another reason to love #peonies! #Paeoniaceae #Botany #PlantScience 🌾🧪

Artist’s representation of the hypothetical ancestral Angiosperm flower: It has many free tepals, whorled, in multiples of 3, many stamens, also whorled and in multiples of 3, and several free carpels. From: Sauquet, H., von Balthazar, M., Magallón, S. et al. The ancestral flower of angiosperms and its early diversification. Nat Commun 8, 16047 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms16047

The ancestral angiosperm flower hypothesized by Sauquet et al. 2017 (doi.org/10.1038/ncom...) looks remarkably like the Drimys I posted earlier today. Check out those free carpels! #apocarpy #Botany #PlantScience 🌾🧪

Close-up photo of a white flower with several tepals, many thick, short stamens, and 7 free carpels in the center.

There’s no better example of a gynoecium of free carpels (= apocarpy) than Drimys winteri (detail of image taken by the late Sherwin Carlquist). The 7 green carpels in the center of the flower enclose the ovules. #Apocarpy is the subject of this week’s posts. #Winteraceae #Botany #PlantScience 🌾🧪