Avicennia germinans (black mangrove) vessel architecture is linked to chilling and salinity tolerance in the Gulf of Mexico.

Over the last several decades, the distribution of the black mangrove Avicennia germinans in the Gulf of Mexico has expanded, in part because it can survive the occasional freeze events and high soil salinities characteristic of the area. Vessel architecture may influence mangrove chilling and salinity tolerance. We surveyed populations of A.

Female gametophyte and early seed development in Peperomia (Piperaceae).

The evolution of female gametophyte development provides an example of how minor ontogenetic modifications can impact the functional biology of seeds. Mature Peperomia-type female gametophytes are normally depicted as 16-nucleate, nine-celled structures. However, recent ultrastructural data have demonstrated that many previous reports were incorrect, suggesting that our understanding of the Peperomia-type ontogeny is incomplete.

The developmental basis of an evolutionary diversification of female gametophyte structure in Piper and Piperaceae.

Background And Aims: Fritillaria-type female gametophyte development is a complex, yet homoplasious developmental pattern that is interesting from both evolutionary and developmental perspectives. Piper (Piperaceae) was chosen for this study of Fritillaria-type female gametophyte development because Piperales represent a 'hotspot' of female gametophyte developmental evolution and have been the subject of several recent molecular phylogenetic analyses. This wealth of phylogenetic and descriptive data make Piper an excellent candidate for inferring the evolutionary developmental basis for the origin of Fritillaria-type female gametophytes.