Suspensor differentiation in the embryogenesis of Liparis from sections Cestichis and Blepharoglossum (Malaxidinae, Orchidaceae)

Abstract

Embryological features were used for the first time as a taxonomic attribute to confirm the difference between closely related taxa in the subtribe Malaxidinae. It was shown that the branched shape of the suspensor in Liparis elegans and L. parviflora from the section Blepharoglossum distinguishes these species from the inflated suspensor without a neck, which is characteristic of the embryos of L. viridiflora and L. dendrochiloides from the section Cestichis. Differentiation of the development and shape of the suspensor is an additional embryological criterion in favor of separating the genus Blepharoglossum from the genus Liparis.

Keywords: Confocal laser microscopy; Embryo; Embryogenesis; Suspensor; Taxonomy.