Reproductive developmental complexity in the African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis, Arecaceae)

Species of the palm family (Arecaceae) are remarkably diverse in their inflorescence and floral morphologies, which make them a particularly interesting group for studies of reproductive development and its evolution. Using light and scanning electron microscopy, we describe inflorescence and flower development in the African oil palm Elaeis guineensis from the initiation of the inflorescence meristem to flower maturity. In mature palms, the inflorescence develops over 2-3 years and is characterized by individual stages within which differentiation may be either relatively slow, as in the case of early inflorescence meristem development, or rapid, as in the case of flower organogenesis. The female inflorescence bears floral triads composed of single pistillate flowers flanked by two abortive staminate flowers, whereas the male inflorescence contains single functional staminate flowers. This suggests a possible evolutionary movement from an ancestral hermaphrodite inflorescence form containing fully functional floral triads to the situation of temporal dioecy observed at present. Wild type flowers are compared to those bearing an epigenetic homeotic abnormality, known as mantled, involving an alteration of the identity of the organs in the fertile and sterile androecium.