Mikhail S. Romanov

• PhD (Botany)
• Head of Department at Main Botanical Garden Of Russian Academy of Science

Within the terminal clade of the order Ericales, known as the “ericoid-clade” (Clethraceae, Cyrillaceae, Ericaceae), the capsules are specific to Clethra and several Ericaceae taxa. Therefore, aiming to reveal whether the Clethra and Ericaceae capsules share similarities in anatomical structure and to investigate the putative directions of fruit tr...

With the aim of determining the plesiomorphic fruit type of Arecaceae–Arecoideae, we conducted a developmental carpological study of all five genera (nine species) of the tribe Iriarteeae, which is often placed in molecular studies as the earliest diverging evolutionary lineage of the subfamily. Three types of mesocarp differentiation and two types...

Fruit morphology and anatomy of representatives of all four Ericaceae subfamilies belonging to the ‘basal Ericaceae’ grade (Enkianthoideae, Pyroloideae, Arbutoideae and Monotropoideae) were studied. Four morphogenetic types of fruits were identified: capsule of Hamamelis type (Enkianthus, Pyrola), capsule of Lilium type (Moneses, Monotropa), berry...

The phylogenetic relationships of two early divergent tribes of Arecoideae (Chamaedoreeae and Iriarteeae) remain poorly resolved. Nevertheless, in some phylogenetic reconstructions the genus Hyophorbe is recognized as the earliest divergent genus of the subfamily. Hence, the fruit anatomy, histogenesis and organogenesis of Hyophorbe species is stud...

Aspidistra tripartita, a new species of Asparagaceae, is described and illustrated. The species was discovered in 2019 in Son La Province, northern Vietnam. Aspidistra tripartita belongs to a group of species characterized by campanulate to cupulate perianth tube and deeply lobed stigma. The new species is readily distinguishable from the other spe...

Highlights •Three types of Symplocos from the late Oligocene and Miocene of Guangxi showcase the diversity of Symplocos during this time. •Earliest Asian megafossils of Symplocos are from the late Oligocene of Nanning Basin, Guangxi, China. •Fossils and modeling reveal Symplocos was quite diverse and has persisted at low latitudes within Asia since...

Details of fruit anatomy and pericarp histogenesis were studied in Mediterranean species of Arbutus with the aim to determine the morphogenetic fruit type, to reveal the functional and ecological significance of fruit structure, and to suggest the most probable scenarios of fruit structural transformations in Arbutoideae (Ericaceae). The pericarp o...

The Liliaceae family is a terminal one in the order Liliales sensu APG IV (2016) and consists of 15 genera with more than 700 species. The family’s geographical range covers most of the Northern hemisphere and extends through several natural zones, from forest tundra (Gagea species) to tropical forests (Tricyrtis imeldae Guthnick), within three con...

With the current reassessment of the phylogeny of Pandanales, revealing the peculiarities of fruit structure of representatives of the order, as well as determination of apomorphies and plesiomorphies of the families included in the order are of importance. With the aim to fill in gaps in the data on fruit structure and to determine principal trend...

Reconstruction of the dispersal history and formation of modern ranges of various taxa is one of the actual problems of modern biogeography. Molecular genetic biogeography based on the analysis of phylogenetic relationships of taxa of different levels began to develop actively at the end of the XX century. Currently, this method is the most objecti...

At present, the fruits of the representatives of Arecaceae remain insufficiently studied, therefore, studies of comparative carpology of palms are relevant. We investigated fruit morphology and anatomy of all 4 genus of tribes Cyclospatheae and Ceroxyleae of subfamily Ceroxylonideae (Arecaceae). The fruits of studied species (Pseudophoenix sargenti...

Premise The representatives of the ANA‐grade of angiosperms demonstrate a diverse pattern of morphological characters, but their apocarpous gynoecium (except in Nymphaeaceae), composed of at least partly ascidiate carpels, the four‐nucleate and four‐celled female gametophyte, and the diploid endosperm (except in Amborella ) are inferred to be plesi...

Peliosanthes laotica is described and illustrated as a new species from Laos (Bolikhamsai province). It is most similar to P. cupuliformis in floral structure, but differs by longer, narrowly elliptic to lanceolate leaf blade, pedicellate (vs sessile) flowers, which are longer and wider, and obconic ovary higher than 1 mm.

According to modern phylogenetic data, the monotypic subfamily Enkianthoideae is sister to all other subfamilies of the family Ericaceae s.l. Aiming to determine the peculiarities of development and structure of Enkianthus pericarp and to reveal the principal characters of its structure, which can be original for the Ericaceae, we have studied frui...

Findings of two species of Aspidistra, i.e. A. obliqua and A. triradiata, are reported from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, representing the first documented records of these species from China. Both species were earlier considered to be endemic to northern Vietnam. Analytical photographs of the studied plants in living state are provided. Morpho...

With the current reassessment of the phylogeny of Hamamelidaceae, the problem of revealing the apomorphies and plesiomorphies in this group arises and peculiarities of histogenesis of the reproductive structures deserve recognition. With the aim to fill in the gap in the data on fruit structure in Hamamelidaceae, we focused on investigating the pro...

In order to reveal the structure of the monomerous diaspores of Pandanus, to clarify the position of the ovary and to determine its morphogenetic fruit type the fruits of P. austrosinensis and P. conglomeratus were studied. The fruiting carpel is differentiated into the proximal part (zone of the locule) and the distal part (pileus). In the proxima...

The islands Iturup and Urup of Kuril Archipelago have been understudied in respect of seagrasses. The research aimed to fill this gap. In 2019 during the expedition of the Russian Geographical Society a part of the coastline has been surveyed by walking, the beached remains of seagrasses and the seagrasses growing on the littoral have been register...

Canarium L. contains approximately 78 species distributed in low to middle altitudes of the Paleotropics and northern Australia. Canarium fruit fossils are known mainly from Paleogene to Neogene of North America, Africa, and Eurasia. Here, we described a new species Canarium maomingense sp . nov. from the upper Pleistocene of the Maoming Basin, Gua...

Information on seagrass in the Russian section of the Baltic Sea-Sambia Peninsula, Curonian Spit, and Gulf of Finland (water area of Kaliningrad and Leningrad regions) is generalized based on a recent survey, literature search, and study of herbarium samples. Seagrasses are found in the emissions of most of the coast of the Kaliningrad region, but...

Peliosanthes luteoviridis is described and illustrated as a new species from southern Vietnam (Dong Nai Province, Cat Tien National Park). It is most similar to P. macrostegia in having stamens forming a hemispheric corona and a pistil somewhat abruptly narrowing to a conoid style, but differs mainly in dense inflorescence, terete peduncle, entirel...

Nelumbonaceae, along with Proteaceae and Platanaceae, comprise a sister clade to the family Sabiaceae in the order Proteales, although these families were previously not considered to be related. In this work, we investigated fruitlet development in Nelumbo with a special focus on the principal events of fruitlet ontogenesis and its pericarp histog...

Representatives of three genera of Livistoninae (Johannesteijsmannia, Licuala and Pholidocarpus) develop corky-warted fruits in contrast to fruit with smooth surfaces in most other representatives of the ‘apocarpous clade’ of Arecaceae subfamily Coryphoideae. The present developmental study is focused on revealing the anatomical peculiarities of th...

The fruits of the family Pandanaceae representatives (monocots: Pandanales) are studied insufficiently like in many groups of angiosperms. With the aim to reveal the peculiarities of histogenesis of the pericarp and to determine the most important characters of fruit structure of Pandanus, the unilocular diasporas of Pandanus polycephalus Lam. were...

We describe and illustrate Ophiopogon robustus and Peliosanthes rubra from northern Laos and P. convallarioides from central Vietnam as species new to science. Ophiopogon robustus is close to O. platyphyllus from southern China, P. rubra is similar to P. densiflora from Laos and P. convallarioides is close to P. argenteostriata from Laos and Vietna...

The investigation of fruit morphology and pericarp anatomy of the genera Phyllospadix and Zostera from the Zosteraceae family enabled us to identify their fruit types based on fruit wall anatomical structure. Drupes of the Prunus type with lignified inner zone of the mesocarp and the endocarp are specific for Phyllospadix iwatensis, whereas in Zost...

Peliosanthes curviandra is described and illustrated as a new species from southern Vietnam. The new species is characterized by the unusual androecium comprising three erect and curved stamens, perfectly inferior ovary, and a slender tortuous style. The results of observations on the androecium structure and micromorphology of leaf blades were als...

Botanical museum of Fund greenhouse in Tsitsin Main Botanical Garden of Russian Science Academy wasfounded in 1953. The exposition represents botanical objects of tropical and subtropical plants, which were collected inexpeditions to different regions of the World and in the Fund Greenhouse. At the present time museum collection includesabout 500 p...

The seed coat anatomy of Wollemia nobilis W. G. Jones, K. D. Hill et J. M. Allen was carried out. In theresult of analysis of transverse sections of seeds the sufficient parenchymatization of seed coats and their differentiationinto three morphogenetic zones – the exotesta, the mesotesta and the endotesta was revealed. Such characters of thespermod...

The oldest representatives of Cymodoceaceae supposedly arose in the tropical waters of East Gondwana inCretaceous and later settled along the World Ocean by various tracks, the most important of which passed along the southern coast of Eurasian continental masses and reached the waters of modern Atlantic. More advanced genera Cymodocea,Syringodium...

The Zosteraceae family probably originated in the waters corresponding to the present northern part of thePacific and dispersed from there along the northern and southern coasts of Eurasian landmasses, penetrating the waters ofthe Southern Hemisphere at least twice.

The Hamamelidaceae s. l. consists of 27–31 genera and about 100 species that are disjunctly distributed in Western, Southern, Eastern and Southeast Asia, North, Central and South America, Eastern Africa and Northeastern Australia. Phylogenetic relationships were reconstructed among the 51 species from 28 genera of Hamamelidaceae s. l. and 4 outgrou...

Morphological and anatomical fruit characters are used for description of morphogenetic fruit types within eight traditional fruit types – follicle, nutlet, drupe, berry, capsule, pyrenarium, amphisarca and nut, which describe the major diversity of fruits of all angiosperms. The traditional fruit types are representing levels of fruits organizatio...

Проведен молекулярно-генетический анализ трех семейств порядка Pandanales (Velloziaceae, Triuridaceae, Stemonaceae) по 4 генам. (atpA, atpB – for spacer atpB–rbcL, tRNA–Leu (trnL) – for spacer trnL–F, and 18SrRNA). Была получена молекулярно-генетическая кладограмма, на основе которой составлены картосхемы корреляции филогенетических связей родов ба...

Aspidistra minor is described and illustrated as a new species from southern Vietnam (Gia Lai province, Kon Chu Rang Nature Reserve). The new species possesses very small ovate to elliptic leaf blades and very small flowers with stamens inserted at the base of the perigone. In flower structure, the new species resembles A. leucographa and A. elatio...

Premise of research. Fruit structure, in contrast to flower structure, has not been the subject of detailed comparative studies in many angiosperm lineages. This study focuses on fruit morphology, anatomy, and histology of the family Calycanthaceae (Laurales), including all genera: Calycanthus (including Sinocalycanthus), Chimonanthus, andIdiosperm...

Peliosanthes longicoronata is described and illustrated as a new species from central Vietnam (Ha Tinh Province, Vu Quang National Park). The new species has comparatively long staminal corona, that is mentioned in the specific epithet. The new species resembles P. teta, but differs in its solitary, upward-facing flowers and a white, tubular, dista...

Based on morphological characters the monogeneric family Eupomatiaceae has been traditionally included in Magnoliales, closely related to Magnoliaceae, Himantandraceae or Annonaceae. This is well supported by molecular phylogenetic studies, and Eupomatiaceae appear strongly supported as sister to Annonaceae. Some specific characters of reproductive...

One following the news of systematics of the genus Aspidistra Ker Gawler (1822: 628) should notice that the year 2016 brought us at least 16 new taxa, including 15 new species and one subspecies (Averyanov & Tillich 2016, Averyanov et al. 2016, Liang et al. 2016, Liu et al. 2016, Ly & Tillich 2016, Pan et al. 2016, Tanaka 2016, Vislobokov 2016, Vis...

With thirty deciduous and nine evergreen species, Asia is considered as the main area for distribution of Magnolia L. s. l. For more than 150 years, the East Asian magnolias are being cultivated on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus; mainly it is Magnolia kobus DC., M. liliiflora Desr., and M. x soulangeana Soul.-Bod. As of the beginning of 2016,...

RESUMEN En la actualidad se acepta mundialmente la reducción de todos los géneros de Magnolioideae (Magnoliaceae) a un único género Magnolia s.l. Al unificar las especies del género Talauma bajo Magnolia, las especie cubanas han sido arbitrariamente pasadas a la sinonimia de la única especie de este grupo que tenía un nombre válidamente publicado e...

A complex cladistic analysis of molecular-genetic and morphological data about the Monimiaceae family was carried out. The hypothetic modes of the family dispersal are reconstructed basing on the data received for the studied representatives of the Monimiaceae family from all parts of the range and available fossils data. The family supposedly orig...

The paper examines the issue of taxonomy of the Liriope genus, what, to some extent, prevents an effective research of the representatives of this genus in order to find lawn grass substitutes for shady places. For a more accurate identification of the Liriope samples available in the collection of the Kuban Subtropical Botanical Garden (Sochi), we...

Premise of the study: The family Magnoliaceae s.l. is a basal angiosperm family with two subfamilies-Magnolioideae and Liriodendroideae, which differ by the types and structure of their fruits and seeds. The late Albian genus Archaeanthus shares many features of its reproductive organs with Magnoliaceae s.l., but its pericarp anatomy was never stu...

All Illicium spp. have explosive fruits, which is a unique character among the basal grade of angiosperms. Illicium fruits consist of several ventrally dehiscing follicles developing from conduplicate carpels, with a prominent, slightly postgenitally fused ventral slit. The closure of the ventral slit is also secured by two mirror‐symmetrical massi...

Nypa fruticans is a mangrove palm with current natural coastal distribution in the Old World tropics and hydrochorous fruit dispersal. Nypa comprises its own monotypic subfamily in Arecaceae, with high or moderate support of its sister position to other palms excluding Calamoideae or even sister to all other palms including Calamoideae. Apocarpous...

The Malesian genus Eugeissona, with six species, is sister to all other Calamoideae, which are in turn sister to all other Arecaceae. The structure of its gynoecium and fruit is thus potentially of great interest in understanding gynoecium evolution in calamoid palms and in Arecaceae as a whole. The wall of the incompletely trilocular gynoecium of...

The Borasseae form a highly supported monophyletic clade in the Arecaceae-Coryphoideae. The fruits of Coryphoideae are small, drupaceous with specialized anatomical structure of the pericarp and berries. The large fruits of borassoid palms contain massive pyrenes, which develop from the middle zone of the mesocarp. The pericarp structure and mode o...

Magnolia virginiana, the type species of genus Magnolia, is a native American species belonging to section Magnolia. To better understand intraspecific taxonomy of Magnolia virginiana, we conducted molecular phylogenetic analysis based on sequences of cpDNA. Fresh leaves were collected from 28 populations (a total of 133 individuals) covering the e...

Palmarola-Bejerano, A., Romanov, M. S. & Bobrov, A. V. F. C.: A new subspecies of Magnolia virginiana (Magnoliaceae) from western Cuba [Novitiae florae cubensis 29]. — Willdenowia 38: 545-549. — ISSN 0511-9618; © 2008 BGBM Berlin-Dahlem. doi:10.3372/wi.38.38214 (available via http://dx.doi.org/) Magnolia virginiana was reported recently from the Ma...

Fruit structure (anatomy) was studied in 27 species of 15 genera of Monimiaceae s.s. Almost all have apocarpous gynoecia, with the carpels more or less surrounded by a floral cup. The fruitlets are presented on the opened floral cup, which, depending on its pre- and post-floral development, differentially contributes to the attractive part of the m...

The indehiscent fruitlets of the apparently basalmost extant angiosperm, Amborella trichopoda, have a pericarp that is differentiated into five zones, a thin one-cell-layered skin (exocarp), a thick fleshy zone of 25–35 cell layers (outer mesocarp), a thick, large-celled sclerenchymatous zone (unlignified) of 6–18 cell layers (middle mesocarp), a s...

The anatomy and ultrastructure of seed envelopes of a New Caledonian endemic Austrotaxus spicata were examined for the first time. The systematic position and phylogenetic relations of Austrotaxus were analysed in light of these data. The structure of aril and spermoderm were investigated to demonstrate the similarities with Phyllocladus as well as...