New article published in Ecology and Evolution.
Authors: Catherine Meyer, Thomas Hilger, Kalcida Naomi Kuki, Sérgio Yoshimitsu Motoike, Georg Cadish
Abstract: The oilseed palm genus Acrocomia is suitable for sustainable oil production in South America. The high phenotypic diversity of wild populations poses a challenge for the delimitation of the genus. Comparing the inflorescence architecture, a first-order panicle, and staminate and pistillate flower traits could be a valuable tool in resolving the taxonomic disarray. Thus, this study aims to characterize the differences in the inflorescence architecture and floral structures of three common and economically significant Acrocomia species: A. aculeata, A. totai, and A. intumescens. Biometric traits of the inflorescence architecture and floral structures of various Acrocomia accessions in an ex situ germplasm collection in Brazil were assessed. The unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) cluster analysis based on the Gower distance was used to measure dissimilarities between the individual plants of the accessions. To our best knowledge, this study provides the first evidence of the presence of second-order rachillae in the genus Acrocomia. Evaluated traits showed a high level of variation within and between accessions, emphasizing the phenotypic diversity of the genus. The accessions of A. totaiwere distinguishable from those of the other two species by their inflorescence architecture and flower traits. The dissimilarities between A. aculeata and A. intumescens were not sufficient to differentiate both. In conclusion, the quantitative assessment of inflorescence and floral traits is a valuable tool for taxonomic resolution of the genus.
An overview of the inflorescence and floral structure of Acrocomia species. (a) Inflorescence of A. aculeata. (b) Inflorescence of A. totai. (c) Detailed view of the rachis and attached rachillae (A. aculeata). (d–f) Details of the bract showing the abaxial dense layer of short brown trichomes with the occasional aculeus, and bright yellow and glabrous adaxial surface. (g) Rachillae. (h) Triad. (i) Pistillate dyad. (j) Staminate dyad. (k) Staminate flowers with a well-developed infertile carpel in the apical end of rachillae.
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