Sympetaly (fused petals) is a flower characteristic that historically was used to classify a grouping of plants termed Sympetalae, but this term has been abandoned in newer molecular based classifications, although the grouping has similarity to the modern term

asterids In the APG IV system (2016) for the classification of flowering plants, the name asterids denotes a clade (a monophyletic group). Asterids is the largest group of flowering plants, with more than 80,000 species, about a third of the total floweri ...

History

Ipomoea purga - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-077

Sympetalae Rchb. (1828), meaning “with fused petals”, is a

descriptive botanical name Descriptive botanical names are scientific names of groups of plants that are irregular, not being derived systematically from the name of a type genus. They may describe some characteristics of the group in general or may be a name already in exis ...

used in the

Eichler Several people are named Eichler: * August W. Eichler (1839–1887), German botanist * Caroline Eichler (1808/9–1843), German inventor, first woman to be awarded a patent (for her leg prosthesis) * Eunice Eichler (1932–2017), New Zealand Salva ...

, Engler, and Wettstein systems for a group of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s (angiosperms). In this group the flowers have a separate

calyx Calyx or calyce (plural "calyces"), from the Latin ''calix'' which itself comes from the Ancient Greek ''κάλυξ'' (''kálux'') meaning "husk" or "pod", may refer to: Biology * Calyx (anatomy), collective name for several cup-like structures ...

and

corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name * Corolla (headgear), an ancient headdress in the form of a circlet or crown * ''Corolla'' (gastropod), a genus of moll ...

and in which the corolla

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s are fused, at least at their base, a condition known as sympetaly. Prior to the

phylogenic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

classifications of August Eichler and his successors this group corresponds to the

Gamopetalae Gamopetalae is an artificial historical group used in the identification of plants based on Bentham and Hooker's classification system. Use by Bentham and Hooker George Bentham and Joseph Dalton Hooker published this as ''Genera plantarum ad ...

of Bentham and Hooker, gamopetaly being a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

of sympetaly. This was one of the three divisions of

dicotyledons The dicotyledons, also known as dicots (or, more rarely, dicotyls), are one of the two groups into which all the flowering plants (angiosperms) were formerly divided. The name refers to one of the typical characteristics of the group: namely, t ...

in their system. In Eichler's ''Blüthendiagramme'', the class Dicotyleae was divided into two subclasses, the Sympetalae (also classified as Metachlamydeae) and the

Choripetalae Choripetalae Eichler (1876), is a descriptive botanical name used in the Eichler and Wettstein systems for a group of flowering plants. It was one of two groups within the Dicotyledones, the other being the Sympetalae. The latter have fused peta ...

. Adolf Engler and Karl Prantl also listed Sympetalae as a division of the class Dicotyledoneae in their system, ''Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien'', with Sympetalae being composed of gamopetalous families having gamopetalous corollas.

Alfred Rendle Alfred Barton Rendle FRS (19 January 1865 – 11 January 1938) was an English botanist. Rendle was born in Lewisham to John Samuel and Jane Wilson Rendle. He was educated in Lewisham where he first became interested in plants, St Olave's Gr ...

similarly described Sympetalae as originating from

dicot The dicotyledons, also known as dicots (or, more rarely, dicotyls), are one of the two groups into which all the flowering plants (angiosperms) were formerly divided. The name refers to one of the typical characteristics of the group: namely, t ...

s, and then divided them into Pentacyclicae and Tetracyclicae in accordance with the number of flower parts in each group, four and five respectively. According to Engler and Prantl, Sympetalae includes the following orders:

Diapensiales Diapensiaceae is a small family of flowering plants, which includes 15 species in 6 genera. The genera include ''Berneuxia'' Decne. (1 species), '' Diapensia'' L. (5 species), ''Galax'' Sims (1 species), '' Pyxidanthera'' Michx. (2 species), ''S ...

Ericales The Ericales are a large and diverse order of dicotyledons. Species in this order have considerable commercial importance including for Camellia sinensis, tea, persimmon, blueberry, kiwifruit, Brazil nuts, Argania, argan, and azalea. The order i ...

Primulales Primulales was an order of flowering plants. This order was recognized in several systems with little variation in circumscription (see Bentham & Hooker, Engler and Wettstein system). In the classification system of Dahlgren the Primulales wer ...

Plumbaginales Plumbaginales is an order of flowering plants. The order is recognized by several systems, such as the Wettstein system, last revised in 1935, the Engler system, in its update of 1964 and the Cronquist system, 1981. Its circumscription is typical ...

, Ebenales, Contortae,

Tubiflorae ''Tubiflorae'' is a botanical name, meaning “with tubular flowers”. It was used in the Engler system (and derived systems such as the Wettstein system) for: * an order in the ''Sympetalae''. This order included such families as ''Convolvulac ...

Plantaginales Plantaginaceae, the plantain family, is a large, diverse family (biology), family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales that includes common flowers such as Antirrhinum, snapdragon and Digitalis, foxglove. It is unrelated to the true plantai ...

Rubiales Rubiales was an order of flowering plants in the Cronquist system, including the families Rubiaceae and Theligonaceae. The latest APG system (2009) does not recognize this order and places the families within Gentianales Gentianales is an or ...

, Cucurbitales, and

Campanulatae Campanulales is a valid botanic name for a plant order. It was used in the Cronquist system as an order within the subclass Asteridae in the class Magnoliopsida flowering plants. As then circumscribed it included the families: * Pentaphragmatac ...

. Sympetalous flowers are found in many angiosperms, but it was the combination of sympetaly with a "stamen whorl isomerous and alternate with the corolla-lobes, or stamens fewer than the corolla lobes" that

Takhtajan Armen Leonovich Takhtajan or Takhtajian ( hy, Արմեն Լևոնի Թախտաջյան; russian: Армен Леонович Тахтаджян; surname also transliterated Takhtadjan, Takhtadzhi︠a︡n or Takhtadzhian, pronounced takh-tuh-JA ...

(1964) used to define the subclass Asteridae, and later by Cronquist (1981), and later, corresponding to the

in the modern Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) system, based on

molecular phylogenetics Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

. Since sympetaly has arisen independently many times in evolution ( homoplasy), on its own it is not useful for taxonomic classification.

Examples

* Lady's bedstraw (''

Galium verum ''Galium verum'' (lady's bedstraw or yellow bedstraw) is a herbaceous perennial plant of the family Rubiaceae. It is widespread across most of Europe, North Africa, and temperate Asia from Israel, Lebanon and Turkey to Japan and Kamchatka. It is ...

'') * Olive (''

Olea europaea The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

'') * Northern highbush blueberry ('' Vaccinium corymbosum'') * Willow gentian ('' Gentiana asclepiadea'') * Lavender ('' Lavandula angustifolia'') * Jalap (''

Ipomoea purga ''Ipomoea purga'' is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Ipomoea''. It is commonly referred to as jalap and is probably also the source of the John the Conqueror root. Description ''Ipomoea purga'' is described as a vine that can reach h ...

'')

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{refend Historically recognized angiosperm taxa

History

Examples

See also

References

Bibliography