Hydatellaceae are superficially like Centrolepidaceae, both being very reduced morphologically, and indeed Hydatellaceae have been misidentified as that family.
Although Hydatellaceae have long been considered to be monocots, largely because of this superficial similarity to Centrolepidaceae, the combination of characters they show has been recognised as being unique in that group, indeed, very distinctive within monocots as a whole (e.g.
Hydatellaceae are rather small more or less caespitose and often annual aquatic (submerged or not) herbs with linear leaves that have only a single vein, and capitate and usually scapose inflorescences bearing minute and very reduced flowers; the beaded, penicillate stigmas are distinctive.
A research team led by scientists at the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research announce a startling discovery in the March 15, 2007 issue of Nature concerning Hydatellaceae, an obscure family of dwarf, aquatic flowering plants.
The researchers, led by garden researchers Associate Professor Sean Graham and his graduate students Jeffery Saarela (now at the Canadian Museum of Nature) and Hardeep Rai, discovered that these plants, once thought to be diminutive relatives of grasses and rushes, instead belong near the very root of the evolutionary tree of flowering plants.
Hydatellaceae were previously thought to be monocots (a large and diverse group of the flowering plants that includes grasses, sedges, gingers, palms and onions) – largely on the basis of their narrow, pointed leaves.
This information clearinghouse article was prepared to supplement the Nature article published on March 15, 2007, “Hydatellaceae identified as a new branch near the base of the angiosperm phylogenetic tree.
Previously, the Hydatellaceae were thought to be in the Poales (the order of flowering plants including grasses, sedges, bromeliads, etc.).
Hydatellaceae, an entry on Botany Photo of the Day released upon the lifting of the media embargo at 11am local time on March 14, 2007.
Hydatellaceae identified as a new branch near the base of the angiosperm phylogenetic tree.
The discovery of a new basal lineage would lead to further re-evaluation of the initial angiosperm radiation, but would also be unexpected, as nearly all of the approximately 460 flowering-plantfamilies have been surveyed in molecular studies.
Here we show that Hydatellaceae, a small family of dwarf aquatics that were formerly interpreted as monocots, are instead a highly modified and previously unrecognized ancient lineage of angiosperms.
Hydatellaceae were sampled, but only with morphological characters,
recognize Hydatellaceae as an element of Poales s.l.
Soreng R. Davis 1998 Phylogenetics and character evolution in the grass family (Poaceae): simultaneous analysis of morphological and chloroplast DNA restriction site character sets.
There is a very brief treatment given to Calostemma in the Flora of NSW Vol 4, and the Flora of Western NSW.
Each only reference their information to that provided in 'The Flora of Australia" Vol 45 1987, Hydatellaceae to Liliaceae, in the write up by Ian Telford pp 382-383 on Calostemma.
This particular Volume had 36 contributors - so expertise in these plantfamilies tended to be fairly narrowly based.
The team of researchers has a paper being published in the March 15, 2007 edition of Nature, entitled “Hydatellaceae identified as a new branch near the base of the angiosperm phylogenetic tree”.
These dwarf aquatic plants found in Australia, New Zealand and India were once thought to be in the order of plants that included the grasses, sedges, bromeliads and rushes (the Poales).
What they discovered was that the Hydatellaceae are a previously unrecognized ancient lineage of flowering plants –; so ancient that they predate the “big split” between the monocots and dicots (or ex-dicots, as is now recognized) in the evolution of flowering plants, and are instead more closely related to the Nymphaeaceae, or water lilies.
Digital Flora of Texas Vascular Plant Image Library query results: Hydatellaceae(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-03)
Digital Flora of Texas Vascular Plant Image Library query results: Hydatellaceae
Sorry, your query Hydatellaceae returned nothing from the DFT Digital Library of Vascular Plant Images - no image references include the term: Hydatellaceae
End of DFT Digital Library of Vascular Plant Images output for the query: Hydatellaceae
In the majority of genera the numbers follow established patterns.
Counts have now been obtained for all known New Zealand representatives of the Alseuosmiaceae, Chloranthaceae, Dryopteridaceae, Elatinaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Geraniaceae, Hydatellaceae, Lauraceae, Linaceae, Rubiaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Nephrolepidaceae, Nyctaginaceae, Pandanaceae, Polypodiaceae, Sapotaceae, and Thelypteridaceae.
B04002; Received 15 January 2004; accepted 14 June 2004; Online publication date 9 December 2004
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Now that the media embargo has lifted, you might be hearing or reading about these in the news over the next few days (I know there is an upcoming BBC radio interview!), thanks to a recent discovery…
