Floral development and vasculature in Eriocaulon (Eriocaulaceae) provide insights into the evolution of Poales.

Background And Aims: Floral developmental studies are crucial for understanding the evolution of floral structures and sexual systems in angiosperms. Within the monocot order Poales, both subfamilies of Eriocaulaceae have unisexual flowers bearing unusual nectaries. Few previous studies have investigated floral development in subfamily Eriocauloideae, which includes the large, diverse and widespread genus Eriocaulon.

Floral development and vascularization help to explain merism evolution in (Eriocaulaceae, Poales).

Background: Flowers in Eriocaulaceae, a monocot family that is highly diversified in Brazil, are generally trimerous, but dimerous flowers occur in and a few other genera. The floral merism in an evolutionary context, however, is unclear. encompasses significant morphological variation leading to a still unresolved infrageneric classification.