| Pentaphragma | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pentaphragma begoniaefolium | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Pentaphragmataceae J.Agardh[1] |
| Genus: | Pentaphragma Wall. ex G.Don |
| Species | |
See text | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
FrancfleuryaA.Chev. & Gagnep. | |
Pentaphragma is a genus of flowering plants.Pentaphragma is the sole genus inPentaphragmataceae, afamily in theorderAsterales. These species are fleshyherbs, with asymmetrical leaf blades. They are found inSoutheast Asia.Pentaphragma is rayless, but eventually develops rays in at least one of the species studied. This is interpreted as related to secondary woodiness or upright habit within a predominantly herbaceous phylad. The vessel elements ofPentaphragma have features universally interpreted as primitive in dicotyledons: scalariform perforation plates with numerous bars; pit membrane remnants in perforations; scalariform lateral wall pitting; the genus also has fiber-tracheids with prominently bordered pits. The presence of occasional scalariform perforation plates, often aberrant, in secondary xylem of families of Asterales sensu lato - Campanulaceae, Pentaphragmataceae, Valerianaceae, and even Asteraceae (e.g., certain Lactuceae) - can be attributed to paedomorphosis, extending these plates into secondary xylem from primary xylem. Raylessness inPentaphragma can be described in terms of secondary woodiness or paedomorphosis. The fact that fiber-tracheids are shorter than vessel elements inPentaphragma is believed related to raylessness also, because some fiber-tracheids are produced from 'potential' ray areas.[3]
