The genusCarpodetus(Escalloniaceae): A Pollenmorphological Enigma

Abstract
The pollen morphology of the small, mainly New Guinean genus Carpodetus J. R. & G. Forst. was investigated by means of light and electron microscopy. It is included in the Escalloniaceae, a family within the saxifragaceous complex. All species of Carpodetus have pollen grains united in permanent, tetrahedral tetrads, a condition never encountered in the Saxifragaceae sensu lato. The presence of tetrads, type and organisation of apertures, size of pollen grains, as well as exine stratification are features very similar to those found in several species of the Ericaceae and the Epacridaceae. One Carpodetus species endemic to New Zealand is distinctive in pollen morphology; whereas those from New Guinea are rather similar to each other. Taking the pollen morphology into account and considering the remarkable affinity with pollen tetrads of the Ericaceae and the Epacridaceae, the authors would like to suggest a taxonomic re-evaluation of the genus Carpodetus.

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