XVI International Botanical Congess

The Restionaceae have gynoecia ranging from three fully fertile carpels to a single carpel. In between one finds several intermediate stages. An ontogenetic study was carried out in most South African genera, as phylogenetic analyses have shown that the similarities in reduced ovaries may be homoplasic.Three main lines of reduction of the gynoecium can be distinguished: (1) Sterilisation and final loss of the anterior carpel, (2) Sterilisation of two carpels, except for one posterior, followed by their progressive loss, (3) Sterilisation of the two posterior carpels, followed by their complete loss. Data of reduction of the gynoecium are plotted on an existing cladogram and implications for the taxonomy of Restionaceae are discussed.