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Morphological Innovations in Poales

Pharus latifolius (Poaceae), SEM developing spikelet. Scale bar = 100µm. Photo: M.G. Sajo.

The monocot order Poales, with c. 20,000 species, represents more than one third of all monocots and includes many economically highly significant crops. Research over the past two decades has broadened the circumscription of the order to include not only Poaceae (grasses) and Cyperaceae (sedges) and their respective allies, but also several smaller families such as Bromeliaceae, Rapateaceae, Typhaceae, Xyridaceae and Eriocaulaceae.

The improved phylogenetic background allows us to address questions about the morphological innovations that promoted the considerable species richness of the larger families, especially Poaceae. Our current primary foci are (1) the evolution of silica bodies in Poales, especially in grasses, in which these cell inclusions are correlated with the evolution of grazing animals, and (2) the evolution of floral and seed structures.

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