A contribution towards the developmental gynoecium morphology of Engelhardia spicata Lechen. ex Blume (Juglandaceae)

The interpretative gynoecial morphology of the Juglandaceae and the terminology applied to their pistillar structures are critically discussed. A study of the histogenesis in the pistil of Engelhardia spicata Lechen. ex Bl. shows that the intralocular parenchyma is of dual origin and is mainly derived from the inner dermal cells of the pistil wall, the remainder, a thin layer of cells in the lower portion of the ovarial cavity, being formed by the superficial cells of the structure referred to as “septum-2” in the text. The anatomy and the vascularisation pattern of the pistil of E. spicata can not be satisfactorily explained by means of the conventional foliar carpel theory.