Facts and fiction in floral morphology with special reference to the Polycarpicae. 2. Interpretation of the floral morphology of various taxonomic groups

In this second part of the paper the floral morphology of a number of (mainly dicotyledonous) taxa is discussed on the basis of the anthocorm theory, the emphasis being laid on the ranalean assembly. Divergent pathways of floral evolution are evidently responsible for an early segregation of a number of flower types, each more or less clearly characteristic for a certain taxonomic group or for a limited number of basic angiospermous lineages. The comparative morphology of all floral regions (functional reproductive units) and the interpretative anthomorphology on the basis of a primitive anthocormoid archetype seem to lead to a satisfactory grouping of the various taxa on the basis of their common and their divergent trends in floral semophylesis.