Journal of Morphology and Anatomy

Zhong-Jian Liu

Publications

• Research Article
  Fossil and Living Cycads Say "No More Megasporophylls"
  Author(s): Yuyan Miao, Zhong-Jian Liu, Meina Wang and Xin WangYuyan Miao, Zhong-Jian Liu, Meina Wang and Xin Wang
  
  The origins of angiosperms and cycads are still mysterious. To understand the evolution of these groups as well as other gymnosperms it was impossible without mentioning a frequently used term “megasporophyll”. “Megasporophyll” is a concept that has been used widely in botany. This term is more or less related with the famous saying “Alles ist Blatt” by Goethe. This term became popular since Arber and Parkin hypothesized that the carpels in the Magnoliales were equivalent to and derived from former foliar parts bearing ovules along their margins (“megasporophyll”). Many botanists uncritically called the parts in all the reproductive organs of seed plants as “sporophylls”, no matter what they actually saw in the plants. However, the fact is that none of the reproductive parts (fossil or living), except those in the Cycadales, .. Read More»
  

  Abstract PDF