Comparative floral structure and systematics in Chrysobalanaceae s.l. (Chrysobalanaceae, Dichapetalaceae, Euphroniaceae, Trigonaiceae; Malpighiales)

Chrysobalanaceae s.l., one of the few suprafamilial subclades of Malpighiales that is supported by molecular phylogenetic analyses, and containing Chrysobalanaceae, Dichapetalaceae, Euphroniaceae, and Trigoniaceae, was comparatively studied with regard to floral structure. The subclade is well supported by floral structure. Potential synapomorphies for Chrysobalanaceae s.l. are the following shared features: floral cup; flowers obliquely monosymmetric; sepals congenitally united at base; sepals of unequal size (outer two shorter); fertile stamens concentrated on the anterior side of the flower and sometimes united into a strap; staminodes absent in the posteriormost antepetalous position; anthers extremely introrse, with thecae almost in one plane; endothecium continuous over the dorsal side of the connective; dorsal anther pit; gynoecium completely syncarpous up to the stigma; carpel flanks slightly bulged out transversely and thus carpels demarcated from each other by a longitudinal furrow; flowers with dense unicellular, non-lignified hairs, especially on the gynoecium; light-coloured, dense indumentum on young shoots and inflorescences. Potential synapomorphies for Chrysobalanaceae + Euphroniaceae include: spur in floral cup; clawed petals; lignified hairs on petals; nectary without lobes or scales and mostly annular. Potential synapomorphies for Dichapetalaceae + Trigoniaceae include: special mucilage cells in sepals in mesophyll (in addition to epidermis); anthers almost basifixed; gynoecium synascidiate up to lower style; nectary with lobes or scales and semi-annular

Comparative floral structure and systematics in Rhizophoraceae, Erythroxylaceae and the potentially related Ctenolophonaceae, Linaceae, Irvingiaceae and Caryocaraceae (Malpighiales)

Within the rosid order Malpighiales, Rhizophoraceae and Erythroxylaceae (1) are strongly supported as sisters in molecular phylogenetic studies and possibly form a clade with either Ctenolophonaceae (2) or with Linaceae, Irvingiaceae and Caryocaraceae (less well supported) (3). In order to assess the validity of these relationships from a floral structural point of view, these families are comparatively studied for the first time in terms of their floral morphology, anatomy and histology. Overall floral structure reflects the molecular results quite well and Rhizophoraceae and Erythroxylaceae are well supported as closely related. Ctenolophonaceae share some unusual floral features (potential synapomorphies) with Rhizophoraceae and Erythroxylaceae. In contrast, Linaceae, Irvingiaceae and Caryocaraceae are not clearly supported as a clade, or as closely related to Rhizophoraceae and Erythroxylaceae, as their shared features are probably mainly symplesiomorphies at the level of Malpighiales or a (still undefined) larger subclade of Malpighales, rather than synapomorphies. Rhizophoraceae and Erythroxylaceae share (among other features) conduplicate petals enwrapping stamens in bud, antepetalous stamens longer than antesepalous ones, a nectariferous androecial tube with attachment of the two stamen whorls at different positions: one whorl on the rim, the other below the rim of the tube, the ovary shortly and abruptly dorsally bulged and the presence of a layer of idioblasts (laticifers?) in the sepals and ovaries. Ctenolophonaceae share with Rhizophoraceae and/or Erythroxylaceae (among other features) sepals with less than three vascular traces, a short androgynophore, an ovary septum thin and severed or completely disintegrating during development, leading to a developmentally secondarily unilocular ovary, a zigzag-shaped micropyle and seeds with an aril. Special features occurring in families of all three groupings studied here are, for example, synsepaly, petals not retarded and thus forming protective organs in floral bud, petals postgenitally fused or hooked together in bud, androecial tube and petals fusing above floral base, androecial corona, apocarpous unifacial styles, nucellus thin and long, early disintegrating (before embryo sac is mature), and nectaries on the androecial tube. Some of these features may be synapomorphies for the entire group, if it forms a supported clade in future molecular studies, or for subgroups thereof. Others may be plesiomorphies, as they also occur in other Malpighiales or also in Celastrales or Oxalidales (COM clade). The occurrence of these features within the COM clade is also discussed

Phytochemistry, chemotaxonomy, ethnopharmacology, and nutraceutics of lamiaceae

Lamiaceae (or Labiatae) is a family of plants included in the Angiosperms group comprising 12 subfamilies, 16 tribes, 9 subtribes, 236 genera, and more than 7000 species. It represents what is probably one of the best-known and most-studied families from the phytochemical and ethnopharmacological standpoints, because it contains several compounds with great relevance and many important biological properties. In the context of phytochemistry, Lamiaceae can be unofficially divided into two major groups. The first one comprises all those species that mainly produce volatile terpenoids, found in the essential oils, while the second one comprises species that mainly biosynthesize components of the polar fraction. Typical examples of the first class are Salvia L., Mentha L., and Rosmarinus L. species, while typical examples of the second class are Ajuga L., Teucrium L., Melittis L., and Stachys L. species. Several phytochemicals have been isolated from Lamiaceae species, such as α- and β-pinene, menthol, and limonene among the essential oil constituents, and di- and triterpenes, flavonoids, and iridoids among the polar fraction constituents. Some of these compounds are even considered to be chemotaxonomic markers at the family, genus, and species levels. From the ethnopharmacological point of view, the Lamiaceae family is very important. In fact, the essential oil of these species is well known to exert strong antibacterial and antioxidant properties, while the polar fraction constituents are known to exhibit good antiviral, anticancer, and antiinflammatory activities. This may explain (and maybe justify) the ancient and modern use of several Lamiaceae species in traditional medicine. Moreover, some Lamiaceae species are consumed on a daily basis as food, spices, or herbal teas, given that their high nutritional and pharmacological properties are able to produce several beneficial nutraceutical effects. In this chapter, these topics will be explored. For every species, all the known phytochemicals will be described, and an overview of their chemotaxonomic relevance will also be provided. In addition, the pharmacological and nutraceutical activities of every species, as reported in the literature, will be detailed and compared with available phytochemical data in order to verify a possible connection of theirs. One further aspect also will be taken into consideration namely, the recent opinions of the scientific community about the species belonging to the Ajuga and Teucrium genera. These plants have been widely employed in the past in traditional medicine, but the use has now stopped due to the presence of toxic secondary metabolites known as neo-clerodane diterpenoids which have clearly been shown to cause hepatotoxicity