Stepping out of the Shadow of Goethe: for a More Scientific Plant Systematics

doi:10.11983/CBB19093

Chinese Bulletin of Botany ›› 2020, Vol. 55 ›› Issue (4): 505-512.DOI: 10.11983/CBB19093

• SPECIAL TOPICS • Previous Articles Next Articles

Stepping out of the Shadow of Goethe: for a More Scientific Plant Systematics

Xin Wang^1,^*(),Zhongjian Liu^2,³,Wenzhe Liu⁴,Wenbo Liao⁵,Xin Zhang⁶,Zhong Liu⁷,Guangwan Hu^8,⁹,Xuemin Guo¹⁰,Yaling Wang¹¹

¹State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
²Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration for Orchid Conservation and Utilization at College of Landscape Architecture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
³Fujian Colleges and Universities Engineering Research Institute of Conservation and Utilization of Natural Bioresources, College of Forestry, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
⁴College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
⁵Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
⁶Qinling National Forest Ecosystem Research Station, College of Forestry, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
⁷School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
⁸Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Specialty Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China
⁹Sino-Africa Joint Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China
¹⁰College of Marine Resources and Environment, Hebei Normal University of Science & Technology, Changli 066600, China
¹¹Xi’an Botanical Garden of Shaanxi Province, Xi’an 710061, China

Received:2019-05-21 Accepted:2020-04-15 Online:2020-07-01 Published:2020-05-21
Contact: Xin Wang

Abstract

Abstract: According to the Traditional Theory, a carpel (basic unit of angiosperm gynoecium) is derived from a modified leaf or megasporophyll through longitudinal folding and inward enrolling. Unfortunately, this theory introduces an unnegotiable gap between angiosperms and gymnosperms. Different from the Traditional Theory, the Unifying Theory provides a link bridging the gap mentioned above—an angiosperm carpel is derived from the synorganization between an ovule-bearing branch and an enclosing leaf. Recently two papers authored by leading botanists, Peter R. Crane and Peter K. Endress, respectively, expressed their opinions different from the Traditional Theory of angiosperm evolution. Endress stated that a carpel is result of synorganization between foliar part(s) plus ovule(s); and Crane stated that ovules/seeds are borne on the termini of branches. Combining the two, it is easy to infer that a carpel is equivalent to a foliar part plus an ovuliferous branch, a conclusion in line with the core conception of the Unifying Theory. The subtle changes in perspectives of these two leading botanists imply that there will be a major paradigm shift in botany soon. In order to make our botanists aware of the coming-soon changes in plant evolution theory, we summarize the latest progresses in relevant areas.

Key words: evolution, Goethe, angiosperms, plant systematics

Xin Wang,Zhongjian Liu,Wenzhe Liu,Wenbo Liao,Xin Zhang,Zhong Liu,Guangwan Hu,Xuemin Guo,Yaling Wang. Stepping out of the Shadow of Goethe: for a More Scientific Plant Systematics[J]. Chinese Bulletin of Botany, 2020, 55(4): 505-512.

Add to citation manager EndNote|Ris|BibTeX

URL: https://www.chinbullbotany.com/EN/10.11983/CBB19093

https://www.chinbullbotany.com/EN/Y2020/V55/I4/505

References 55

[1]	王鑫 (2018). 被子植物的曙光: 揭秘花的起源及陆地植物生殖器官的演化. 北京: 科学出版社. pp. 348.
[2]	王鑫, 刘仲健, 刘文哲, 张鑫, 郭学民, 胡光万, 张寿洲, 王亚玲, 廖文波 (2015). 突破当代植物系统学的困境. 科技导报 33(22), 97-105. DOI URL
[3]	Arber A (1938). Herbals, Their Origin and Evolution, A Chapter in the History of Botany 1470-1670. London: Cambridge University Press. pp. 358.
[4]	Arber A (1946). Introduction to Goethe’s botany. Chron Bot 10, 63-87.
[5]	Arber EAN, Parkin J (1907). On the origin of angiosperms. Bot J Linn Soc 38, 29-80. DOI URL
[6]	Bessey CE (1897). Phylogeny and taxonomy of the angiosperms. Bot Gaz 24, 145-178. DOI URL
[7]	Canright JE (1960). The comparative morphology and relationships of the Magnoliaceae. III. Carpels. Am J Bot 47, 145-155.
[8]	Crane PR, Herendeen PS, Herrera F, Shi G (2018). Diversity and homologies of corystosperm seed-bearing structures from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia and China. In: McElwain J, ed. 10th European Palaeobotany & Palynology Conference. Dublin: Trinity College Dublin. pp. 88.
[9]	Cronquist A (1988). The Evolution and Classification of Flowering Plants. Bronx: New York Botanical Garden. pp. 555.
[10]	Dilcher DL, Crane PR (1984). Archaeanthus: an early angiosperm from the Cenomanian of the Western Interior of North America. Ann Missour Bot Gard 71, 351-383.
[11]	Doyle JA, Endress PK (2000). Morphological phylogenetic analysis of basal angiosperms: comparison and combination with molecular data. Int J Plant Sci 161, S121-S153.
[12]	Eames AJ (1926). The role of flower anatomy in the determination of angiosperm phylogeny. In: International Congress of Plant Sciences, Section of Morphology, Histology, and Paleobotany. New York:Ithaca. pp. 423-427.
[13]	Eames AJ (1961). Morphology of the Angiosperms. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. pp. 518.
[14]	Eames AJ, MacDaniels LH (1947). An Introduction to Plant Anatomy. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. pp. 427.
[15]	Edwards D (2003). Embryophytic sporophytes in the Rhynie and Windy field cherts. Trans Royal Soc Edinb Earth Sci 94, 397-410.
[16]	Endress PK (2005). Carpels in Brasenia (Cabombaceae) are completely ascidiate despite a long stigmatic crest. Ann Bot 96, 209-215. DOI URL
[17]	Endress PK (2019). The morphological relationship between carpels and ovules in angiosperms: pitfalls of morphological interpretation. Bot J Linn Soc 189, 201-227.
[18]	Endress PK, Doyle JA (2009). Reconstructing the ancestral angiosperm flower and its initial specializations. Am J Bot 96, 22-66. URL PMID
[19]	Friis EM, Pedersen KR, Von Balthazar M, Grimm GW, Crane PR (2009). Monetianthus mirus gen. et sp. nov., a nymphaealean flower from the Early Cretaceous of Portugal. Int J Plant Sci 170, 1086-1101.
[20]	Guo XM, Xiao X, Wang GX, Gao RF (2013). Vascular anatomy of kiwi fruit and its implications for the origin of carpels. Front Plant Sci 4, 391. DOI URL PMID
[21]	Guo XM, Yu YY, Bai L, Gao RF (2017). Dianthus chinensis L: the sructural difference between vascular bundles in the placenta and ovary wall suggests their different origin. Front Plant Sci 8, 1986. DOI URL PMID
[22]	Han G, Fu X, Liu ZJ, Wang X (2013). A new angiosperm genus from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation, Western Liaoning, China. Acta Geol Sin (English Edition) 87, 916-925.
[23]	Han G, Liu Z, Wang X (2017). A Dichocarpum-like angiosperm from the Early Cretaceous of China. Acta Geol Sin (English Edition) 90, 1-8.
[24]	Hao S, Xue J (2013). The Early Devonian Posongchong Flora of Yunnan. Beijing: Science Press. pp. 366.
[25]	Herendeen PS, Friis EM, Pedersen KR, Crane PR (2017). Palaeobotanical redux: revisiting the age of the angiosperms. Nat Plants 3, 17015. URL PMID
[26]	Hutchinson J (1926). The phylogeny of flowering plants. In: International Congress of Plant Sciences, Section of Morphology, Histology, and Paleobotany. New York: Ithaca. pp. 413-421.
[27]	Hutchinson J (1968). Key to the Families of Flowering Plants of the World, 2nd edn. Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. 117.
[28]	Ji Q, Li H, Bowe M, Liu Y, Taylor DW (2004). Early Cretaceous Archaefructus eoflora sp. nov. with bisexual flowers from Beipiao, Western Liaoning, China. Acta Geol Sin (English Edition) 78, 883-892.
[29]	Liu WZ, Hilu K, Wang YL (2014). From leaf and branch into a flower: Magnolia tells the story. Bot Stud 55, 28. DOI URL PMID
[30]	Liu ZJ, Wang X (2017). Yuhania: a unique angiosperm from the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia, China. Histor Biol 29, 431-441.
[31]	Liu ZJ, Wang X (2018). A novel angiosperm from the Early Cretaceous and its implications for carpel-deriving. Acta Geol Sin (English Edition) 92, 1293-1298.
[32]	Mathews S, Kramer EM (2012). The evolution of reproductive structures in seed plants: a re-examination based on insights from developmental genetics. New Phytol 194, 910-923. DOI URL PMID
[33]	Mendes MM, Grimm GW, Pais J, Friis EM (2014). Fossil Kajanthus lusitanicus gen. et sp. nov. from Portugal: floral evidence for Early Cretaceous Lardizabalaceae (Ranunculales, basal eudicot). Grana 53, 283-301.
[34]	Miao Y, Liu ZJ, Wang M, Wang X (2017). Fossil and living cycads say "No more megasporophylls". J Morphol Anat 1, 1000107.
[35]	Parkin J (1925). The phylogenetic classification of flowering plants. Nature 115, 385-387. DOI URL
[36]	Roe JL, Nemhauser JL, Zambryski PC (1997). TOUSLED participates in apical tissue formation during gynoecium development in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 9, 335-353. DOI URL PMID
[37]	Rounsley SD, Ditta GS, Yanofsky MF (1995). Diverse roles for MADS box genes in Arabidopsis development. Plant Cell 7, 1259-1269. URL PMID
[38]	Shi G, Crane PR, Herendeen PS, Ichinnorov N, Takahashi M, Herrera F (2019). Diversity and homologies of corystosperm seedbearing structures from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia. J Syst Palaeontol 17, 997-1029. DOI URL
[39]	Shi G, Leslie AB, Herendeen PS, Herrera F, Ichinnorov N, Takahashi M, Knopf P, Crane PR (2016). Early Cretaceous Umkomasia from Mongolia: implications for homology of corystosperm cupules. New Phytol 210, 1418-1429. URL PMID
[40]	Skinner DJ, Hill TA, Gasser CS (2004). Regulation of ovule development. Plant Cell 16, S32-S45. URL PMID
[41]	Sun G, Dilcher DL, Zheng S, Zhou Z (1998). In search of the first flower: a Jurassic angiosperm, Archaefructus, from Northeast China. Science 282, 1692-1695. DOI URL PMID
[42]	Sun G, Ji Q, Dilcher DL, Zheng S, Nixon KC, Wang X (2002). Archaefructaceae, a new basal angiosperm family. Science 296, 899-904. DOI URL PMID
[43]	Takhtajan A (1969). Flowering Plants, Origin and Dispersal. Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd Ltd. pp. 301.
[44]	Takhtajan A (1980). Outline of the classification of flowering plants (magnoliophyta). Bot Rev 46, 225-359.
[45]	Takhtajan A (1997). Diversity and Classification of Flowering Plants. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 643.
[46]	von Goethe JWV (1790). Versuch die Metamorphose der Pflanzen zu erklären. Gotha: Carl Wilhelm Ettinger. pp. 68.
[47]	Wang X (2010). The Dawn Angiosperms: Uncovering the Origin of Flowering Plants. Heidelberg: Springer. pp. 236.
[48]	Wang X (2018a). The Dawn Angiosperms: Uncovering the Origin of Flowering Plants, 2nd edn. Cham: Springer. pp. 407.
[49]	Wang X (2018b). An era of errors: unveiling the truth of Archaeanthus and its implications for angiosperm systematics. ChinaXiv 201804. 201934.
[50]	Wang X, Luo B (2013). Mechanical pressure, not genes, makes ovulate parts leaf-like in Cycas. Am J Plant Sci 4, 53-57.
[51]	Wang X, Wang S (2010). Xingxueanthus: an enigmatic Jurassic seed plant and its implications for the origin of angiosperm. Acta Geol Sin (English Edition) 84, 47-55.
[52]	Wang X, Zheng XT (2012). Reconsiderations on two characters of early angiosperm Archaefructus. Palaeoworld 21, 193-201. DOI URL
[53]	Wieland GR (1906). American Fossil Cycads. Washington: The Wilkens Sheiry Printing Co. pp. 295.
[54]	Zhang X, Liu W, Wang X (2017). How the ovules get enclosed in magnoliaceous carpels. PLoS One 12, e0174955. URL PMID
[55]	Zhang X, Zhang Z, Zhao Z (2019). Floral ontogeny of Illicium lanceolatum (Schisandraceae) and its implications on carpel homology. Phytotaxa 416, 200-210. DOI URL

Stepping out of the Shadow of Goethe: for a More Scientific Plant Systematics

RichHTML

PDF (PC)

Knowledge

Abstract

Cite this article

share this article

References 55

Related Articles 15

Recommended Articles

Metrics

Comments

[1]	Hua He, DunYan Tan, Xiaochen Yang. Cryptic dioecy in angiosperms: diversity, phylogeny and evolutionary significance [J]. Biodiv Sci, 2024, 32(6): 24149-.
[2]	Yingli Cai, Hongge Zhu, Jiaxin Li. Biodiversity conservation in China: Policy evolution, main measures and development trends [J]. Biodiv Sci, 2024, 32(5): 23386-.
[3]	Rui Qu, Zhenjun Zuo, Youxin Wang, Liangjian Zhang, Zhigang Wu, Xiujuan Qiao, Zhong Wang. The biogeochemical niche based on elementome and its applications in different ecosystems [J]. Biodiv Sci, 2024, 32(4): 23378-.
[4]	Jixuan Yang, Xuefei Wang, Hongya Gu. Genetic Basis of Flowering Time Variations in Tibetan Arabidopsis thaliana [J]. Chinese Bulletin of Botany, 2024, 59(3): 373-382.
[5]	Zhi Yang, Yong Yang. Research Advances on Nuclear Genomes of Economically Important Trees of Lauraceae [J]. Chinese Bulletin of Botany, 2024, 59(2): 302-318.
[6]	Feifei Zhang, Tianfeng Yang, Lirong Chen, Dongmei Liu, Liuyuan Yang, Duyu Yang, Peng Ju, Lu Lu. Review of pollen color diversity in Angiosperms [J]. Biodiv Sci, 2024, 32(1): 23346-.
[7]	Qingduo Li, Dongmei Li. Analysis for the prevalence of global bat-borne Bartonella [J]. Biodiv Sci, 2023, 31(9): 23166-.
[8]	YANG Ming-Wei, JIN Xiao-Fang. Diversity and evolutionary ecology of nectar spurs in angiosperms [J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2023, 47(9): 1193-1210.
[9]	Xiaoyun Dong, Jiaping Wei, Junmei Cui, Zefeng Wu, Guoqiang Zheng, Hui Li, Ying Wang, Haiyan Tian, Zigang Liu. Research Progress in Plant Antifreeze Protein [J]. Chinese Bulletin of Botany, 2023, 58(6): 966-981.
[10]	Zhaoyang Jing, Keguang Cheng, Heng Shu, Yongpeng Ma, Pingli Liu. Whole genome resequencing approach for conservation biology of endangered plants [J]. Biodiv Sci, 2023, 31(5): 22679-.
[11]	Shiyun Shen, Yuanfei Pan, Liru Chen, Yanli Tu, Xiaoyun Pan. Plant-soil feedbacks differ between native and introduced populations of Alternanthera philoxeroides [J]. Biodiv Sci, 2023, 31(3): 22436-.
[12]	XI Nian-Xun, ZHANG Yuan-Ye, ZHOU Shu-Rong. Plant-soil feedbacks in community ecology [J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2023, 47(2): 170-182.
[13]	Ming-Yi Bai, Jinrong Peng, Xiangdong Fu. Coordinated Regulation of Gibberellin and Brassinosteroid Signalings Drives Toward a Sustainable “Green Revolution” by Breeding the New Generation of High-yield Wheat [J]. Chinese Bulletin of Botany, 2023, 58(2): 194-198.
[14]	Zhu Hua. Flora and vegetation of Yunnan are shaped by geological events and monsoon climate [J]. Biodiv Sci, 2023, 31(12): 23262-.
[15]	King Hen-biau. From natural selection to anthropogenic selection: Envisioning the Earth’s future standing on Wallace’s shoulders [J]. Biodiv Sci, 2023, 31(12): 23267-.