The morphology of stigma of Asteraceae observed by scanning electron microscopy

The morphology of stigma has taxonomic values. To further explore the taxonomy of family Asteraceae, the morphological characteristics of stigma of 28 genera, 32 species, and two varieties in the family were observed using scanning electron microscopy. The results indicated that the stigma morphology of these Asteraceae plants could be divided into 10 types, of which eight are reported for the first time. The morphological characteristics of stigma support the close relationship between genera Aster and Erigeron and among genera Sonchus, Taraxacum, and Youngia. Our results enriched the stigma type diversity data and provided a morphological basis for the study of the phylogenetic evolution of Asteraceae.

Automated summary

The morphology of stigma in the family Asteraceae has taxonomic significance. In this study, the morphological characteristics of stigma in 28 genera, 32 species, and two varieties of Asteraceae were observed using scanning electron microscopy. The results revealed the existence of 10 types of stigma morphology, including eight types that were reported for the first time. The morphological characteristics of stigma supported the relationships between genera Aster and Erigeron, as well as among genera Sonchus, Taraxacum, and Youngia. This study expanded the diversity data of stigma types and provided a morphological basis for the phylogenetic evolution study of Asteraceae.