Journal
PLANT AND SOIL
Volume 348, Issue 1-2, Pages 453-470Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s11104-011-0874-z
Keywords
Sand-binding roots; Rhizosheath; Haemodoraceae; OCBILs; Soil nutrients; Seasonal aridity; Low phosphorus
Categories
Funding
- Australian Biological Resources Study
- Australian Research Council (ARC)
- Western Australian Herbarium
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
- Department of Conservation and Land Management
- Department of Environment and Conservation
- Kings Park and Botanic Garden
- Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority
- UWA
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
- ARC [DP1092856]
- Australian Research Council [DP1092856] Funding Source: Australian Research Council
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To illustrate the morphology of sand-binding roots of Haemodoraceae, to conduct a comprehensive survey of the trait, spanning different climates across four continents, and to explore evolutionary hypotheses within a molecular phylogenetic framework. Sand-binding roots in Haemodoraceae were examined, measured and photographed in the field and on herbarium specimens. Photomicrographs were taken of southwest Australian species. The presence and absence of the sand-binding trait was mapped onto previously published phylogenies and an ancestral state reconstruction was performed. Sand grains were very tightly bound to the root surface by persistent root hairs in Haemodoraceae. The majority of genera and species were found to possess sand-binding roots and only 2 of the 14 genera, Conostylis and Tribonanthes, had sister taxa with and without the trait. The trait was recorded in tropical, sub-tropical and wet temperate species, but mainly in semi-arid species. Sand-binding roots were likely to have been present in the ancestor of the family and both sub-families. The presence of sand-binding roots is the probable ancestral condition for Haemodoraceae, associated with a high degree of phylogenetic conservatism and some secondary loss, notably in Conostylis. Experimental studies are needed to understand the ecological and evolutionary forces at work.
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