Floral organogenesis in Dysosma versipellis (Berberidaceae) and its systematic implications

The Berberidaceae and the six other families of Ranunculales form a sister clade to all other eudicots, and are crucial to reconstructing the common ancestor of flowering plants. Previous studies have suggested that the petals of most Berberidaceae are derived from stamens, and some are thought to develop petals from common petal/stamen primordia. However, the flower ontogeny is still poorly known in the family and the presence of common primordia needs to be re-evaluated from a comparative developmental perspective. Here, we used scanning electron microscopy to study the floral development of the endemic Chinese species Dysosma versipellis (Hance) M. Cheng ex Ying, which was originally placed in Podophyllum. Our results show that the floral organs are all free and the sepals, petals, and stamens are initiated centripetally in successive and alternate trimerous pairs of whorls around a single carpel. The nectarless petals are initiated separately and do not develop from common primordia with the stamens. Floral and developmental features of D. versipellis are similar to those of most members of Berberidaceae. The regular development of multiple flowers and absence of a secondary increase in the number of stamens in Dysosma support its exclusion from Podophyllum, and this is also inferred by the DNA sequence data.