Floral evolution in Lamiales - COMPLETED 2008

Studies on comparative floral anatomy, embryology and ontogeny are undertaken in a phylogenetic context in order to improve our understanding the evolution of the diverse and interesting floral morphologies that occur in Lamiales. Research techniques include scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and various types of light microscopy (LM). Since understanding of structures within a clade requires comparative work on related taxa, these studies are undertaken in a broad phylogenetic context within the Lamiid clade (Lamiales and its relatives). Analytical techniques employed include cladistic analyses of morphological and combined molecular-morphological data, and use of the improved molecular phylogenetic framework to optimise character sets.