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. 1993 May 15;90(10):4641–4644. doi: 10.1073/pnas.90.10.4641

Phylogenetic analysis of rbcL sequences identifies Acorus calamus as the primal extant monocotyledon.

M R Duvall 1, G H Learn Jr 1, L E Eguiarte 1, M T Clegg 1
PMCID: PMC46568  PMID: 8506310

Abstract

The identity of the oldest lineage of monocotyledons is a subject of debate. Alternative interpretations of morphological homologies are variously consistent with proposals that species of Alismatanae, Dioscoreales, or Melanthiales were the earliest descendants of the first monocotyledons. We present phylogenetic analyses based on DNA sequences of the plastid locus rbcL in which Acorus calamus, an herb with unspecialized floral features and of uncertain affinities, is supported as a member of the oldest extant lineage of monocotyledons. This conclusion is consistent with a substantial body of morphological, anatomical, and embryological evidence and offers an explanation for the failure to identify any close relationship between Acorus and other genera.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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