Vestigial stamen nectaries
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Title
Vestigial stamen nectaries
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Definition
In the Lecythidaceae, the inner-most appendages at the apex of a fully-coiled, zygomorphic-flowered, neotropical Lecythidaceae that produce nectar which accumulates in the nectar chamber. Nectar-producing vestigial stamens and nectar chambers are only found in species of
and . Fully coiled refers to species that have more than one inward coil, i.e., species with two or more coils. -
Notes
In Lecythidaceae, the genera Couratari and Eschweilera have nectar-producing vestigial stamens. This term is equivalent to nectary but it is not used by us because it does not provide information about the origin of the nectary. Single coiled species of Lecythidaceae do not have nectaries derived from vestigial stamens and, if they are present, they are not structurally evident but nectar exudes from normally looking tissue, often from around the bases of vestigial stamens. Actinomrophic-flowered species of neotropical Lecythidaceae may have ring nectaries found at the summit of the ovary in at least some species of Grias.
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