Staminode

Last updated

In botany, a staminode is an often rudimentary, sterile or abortive stamen, which means that it does not produce pollen. [1] Staminodes are frequently inconspicuous and stamen-like, usually occurring at the inner whorl of the flower, but are also sometimes long enough to protrude from the corolla.

The arrow points to the hairy staminode of a Grinnell's Penstemon (Penstemon grinellii) flower Staminode 1509.JPG
The arrow points to the hairy staminode of a Grinnell's Penstemon (Penstemon grinellii) flower

Sometimes, the staminodes are modified to produce nectar, as in the witch hazel (Hamamelis). [2]

Staminodes can be a critical characteristic for differentiating between species, for instance in the orchid genus Paphiopedilum , and among the penstemons.

In the case of Cannas, the petals are inconsequential and the staminodes are refined into eye-catching petal-like replacements.

A spectacular example of staminode is given by Couroupita guianensis , a tropical tree growing in South America also known as cannonball tree.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stamen</span> Male organ of a flower

The stamen is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geraniaceae</span> Family of plants

Geraniaceae is a family of flowering plants placed in the order Geraniales. The family name is derived from the genus Geranium. The family includes both the genus Geranium and the garden plants called geraniums, which modern botany classifies as genus Pelargonium, along with other related genera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peony</span> Genus of flowering plants in the family Paeoniaceae

The peony or paeony is a flowering plant in the genus Paeonia, the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae. Peonies are native to Asia, Europe, and Western North America. Scientists differ on the number of species that can be distinguished, ranging from 25 to 40, although the current consensus describes 33 known species. The relationships between the species need to be further clarified.

<i>Commelina</i> Genus of flowering plants

Commelina is a genus of approximately 170 species commonly called dayflowers due to the short lives of their flowers. They are less often known as widow's tears. It is by far the largest genus of its family, Commelinaceae. The Swedish taxonomist Carl Linnaeus of the 18th century named the genus after the two Dutch botanists Jan Commelijn and his nephew Caspar, each representing one of the showy petals of Commelina communis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commelinaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

Commelinaceae is a family of flowering plants. In less formal contexts, the group is referred to as the dayflower family or spiderwort family. It is one of five families in the order Commelinales and by far the largest of these with about 731 known species in 41 genera. Well known genera include Commelina (dayflowers) and Tradescantia (spiderworts). The family is diverse in both the Old World tropics and the New World tropics, with some genera present in both. The variation in morphology, especially that of the flower and inflorescence, is considered to be exceptionally high amongst the angiosperms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabiaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

Sabiaceae is a family of flowering plants that were placed in the order Proteales according to the APG IV system. It comprises three genera, Meliosma, Ophiocaryon and Sabia, with 66 known species, native to tropical to warm temperate regions of southern Asia and the Americas. The family has also been called Meliosmaceae Endl., 1841, nom. rej.

<i>Eupomatia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Eupomatia is a genus of three flowering shrub species of the Australian continent, constituting the only genus in the ancient family Eupomatiaceae. The Eupomatiaceae have been recognised by most taxonomists and classified in the plant order Magnoliales. The three species of shrubs or small trees grow naturally in the rainforests and humid eucalypt forests of eastern Australia and New Guinea. The type species Eupomatia laurina was described in 1814 by Robert Brown.

<i>Hamamelis virginiana</i> Species of plant

Hamamelis virginiana, known as witch-hazel, common witch-hazel, American witch-hazel and beadwood, is a species of flowering shrub native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to Minnesota, and south to central Florida to eastern Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cleomaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

The Cleomaceae are a small family of flowering plants in the order Brassicales, comprising about 300 species in 10 genera, or about 150 species in 17 genera. These genera were previously included in the family Capparaceae, but were raised to a distinct family when DNA evidence suggested the genera included in it are more closely related to the Brassicaceae than they are to the Capparaceae. The APG II system allows for Cleomaceae to be included in Brassicaceae. Cleomaceae includes C3, C3–C4, and C4 photosynthesis species.

This page provides a glossary of plant morphology. Botanists and other biologists who study plant morphology use a number of different terms to classify and identify plant organs and parts that can be observed using no more than a handheld magnifying lens. This page provides help in understanding the numerous other pages describing plants by their various taxa. The accompanying page—Plant morphology—provides an overview of the science of the external form of plants. There is also an alphabetical list: Glossary of botanical terms. In contrast, this page deals with botanical terms in a systematic manner, with some illustrations, and organized by plant anatomy and function in plant physiology.

<i>Hamamelis mollis</i> Species of tree

Hamamelis mollis, also known as Chinese witch hazel, is a species of flowering plant in the witch hazel family Hamamelidaceae, native to central and eastern China, in Anhui, Guangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, and Zhejiang.

<i>Disphyma</i> Genus of succulents

Disphyma is a genus of flowering plants in the family Aizoaceae that are native to New Zealand, Australia and southern Africa. Plants in this genus are prostrate, annual or short-lived perennial shrubs with succulent leaves and daisy-like flowers arranged singly on the ends of shoots with petal-like staminodes, many stamens and usually five styles.

This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary of leaf morphology. For other related terms, see Glossary of phytopathology, Glossary of lichen terms, and List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names.

Mentzelia oreophila is a species of flowering plant in the family Loasaceae known by the common name Argus blazingstar. It is native to the Southwestern United States and the Mojave Desert sky islands in California. It grows in rocky desert and scrub habitat.

<i>Adenodaphne</i> Genus of shrubs

Adenodaphne is a genus of shrubs and small trees endemic to New Caledonia belonging to the family Lauraceae. The genus is related to Litsea. They have 12 chromosomes.

<i>Roscoea nepalensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Roscoea nepalensis is a perennial herbaceous plant found in Nepal. Most members of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae), to which it belongs, are tropical, but R. nepalensis, like other species of Roscoea, grows in much colder mountainous regions.

Roscoea ngainoi is a perennial herbaceous plant occurring in the Ukhrul district of Manipur state, India. Most members of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae), to which it belongs, are tropical, but like other species of Roscoea, R. ngainoi grows in much colder mountainous regions.

<i>Brexia</i> Shrub or tree genus

Brexia is a plant genus assigned to the Celastraceae. It is a dense evergreen shrub or small tree of usually around 5 m high, with alternately set, simple, leathery leaves with a short leaf stem and lanceolate to inverted egg-shaped leaf blades. The pentamerous flowers occur in cymes. The petals are greenish white, the stamens are alternating with wide, incised staminodes. The superior ovary develops in a long-ribbed fruit. Brexia naturally grows on the coast of East Africa, on Madagascar, the Comoros and Seychelles. Opinions differ about the number of species in Brexia. Sometimes the genus is regarded monotypic, B. madagascariensis being a species with a large variability, but other authors distinguish as many as twelve species. Common names for B. madagascariensis include jobiapototra, tsimiranjana, tsivavena, vahilava, voalava, voankatanana, voantalanina, voatalanina and votalanina, and mfukufuku (Swahili), mfurugudu and bwa kato (Seychelles).

<i>Pelargonium coronopifolium</i> Subshrub in the family Geraniaceae from western South Africa

Pelargonium coronopifolium is a subshrub of up to 40 cm high. It has green to slightly greyish, linear to narrowly elliptical leaves often with irregular teeth towards the tip and white to purple flowers in groups of one to four. It can be found in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Old publications suggested the name buck's horn plantain-leaved stork's bill, but this name never gained common use.

<i>Zanthoxylum avicennae</i> Species of Rutaceae

Zanthoxylum avicennae is a woody plant in the family Rutaceae.

References

  1. Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Derivation and Accent; Published by Gerald Duckworth & Co. London, 4th ed 1928
  2. jin lu mei shu. Hamamelis Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 124. 1753. Flora of China 9: 32. 2003