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Anatomy, vascular pattern and development of gynostemium in Thottea ponmudiana Sivar. (Aristolochiaceae), an endemic species of the Western Ghats

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.15175
Submitted
22 April 2026
Published
03-10-2026
Versions

Abstract

Thottea ponmudiana Sivar. is a species endemic to the Ponmudi hills of the Western Ghats, India. In terms of morphology and reproductive biology, the species is significant due to the very special reproductive part-the gynostemium, which is formed as a result of partial fusion between the stamen and the pistil. The present study addresses the anatomical and developmental features of the gynostemium, with special emphasis on its vascular pattern and appendages and the results indicate that the appendages in the gynostemium are underdeveloped and exist morphologically as staminodes, not as sterile stigmatic lobes. The irregular distribution of appendages, both in the solitary and whorled pattern and their developmental sequences and vascular pattern point out an evolutionary instability.

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