Phylogeny of Capparaceae and Brassicaceae based on chloroplast sequence data.

Capparaceae and Brassicaceae have long been known to be closely related families, with the monophyly of Capparaceae more recently questioned. To elucidate the relationship between Brassicaceae and Capparaceae as well as to address infrafamilial relationships within Capparaceae, we analyzed sequence variation for a large sampling, especially of Capparaceae, of these two families using two chloroplast regions, trnL-trnF and ndhF. Results of parsimony and likelihood analyses strongly support the monophyly of Brassicaceae plus Capparaceae, excluding Forchhammeria, which is clearly placed outside the Brassicaceae and Capparaceae clade and suggest the recognition of three primary clades-Capparaceae subfamily (subf.

From teosinte to maize: the catastrophic sexual transmutation.

An alternative to the theory that the ear of maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) evolved from a slender female ear of a Mexican annual teosinte holds that it was derived from the central spike of a male teosinte inflorescence (tassel) which terminates the primary lateral branches. This alternative hypothesis is more consistent with morphology and explains the anomalous lack of significant genetic and biochemical differences between these taxa.

Zea diploperennis (Gramineae): A New Teosinte from Mexico.

A perennial teosinte or "wild maize" endemic to the Cerro de San Miguel, Sierra de Manantlan, Jalisco, Mexico differs from Zea perennis by dimorphic rhizomes, robust habit, and a larger number of longer, laxer tassel branches. The fact that it is a diploid (2n = 20) has taxonomic and agronomic significance. The seeds are used locally for food.