Systematic applicability of androecium morphology at infra-generic level of the genus Fritillaria (Liliaceae)

The systematic state of the genus Fritillaria at subgeneric level has been the subject of long debate. The genus in different morphological (e.g., bulbs, style, nectaires and capsule), Karological and molecular treatments was classified into various numbers of subgenera ranging from two to ten subgenera. In this study Scanning Electronic Microscopy of the filament and anther were used to revise the systematics of the genus at subgeneric level. Several quantitate and qualitative characters including filaments' length, morphology, color, ornaments; and anthers' length, color and attachment were studied in samples of 27 Fritillaria species. For the species under study, a clustering dendrogram was constructed based on these characters, and a phylogenetic tree was biult using phylogenetic backbone based on the botanical nomenclature of The Plant List in R software. The results showed some correspondence between the dendrogram and phylogenetic tree, indicating the relative usefulness of filament and anthers' ultrastructure characters in systematics of Fritillaria at subgenus level. Moreover, both trees were correspondent in indicating that the members of subgenus Fritillaria were not monophyletic, and a sister relationship between subgenera Petilium and Theresia.