Details - The silica bodies of tropical American grasses : morphology, taxonomy, and implications for grass systematics and fossil phytolith identification

The silica bodies of tropical American grasses

Title

The silica bodies of tropical American grasses : morphology, taxonomy, and implications for grass systematics and fossil phytolith identification

Title Variants

Alternative: Morphology, taxonomy, and implications for grass systematics and fossil phytolith identification

Related Titles

Series: Smithsonian contributions to botany, no. 85

By

Piperno, Dolores R.

Pearsall, Deborah M.
Smithsonian Institution. Press

Type

Book

Material

Published material

Publication info

Washington, D.C, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998

Notes

Shipping list no.: 98-0304-P.

Silica bodies from over 200 species of Neotropical grasses comprising 80 different genera from all currently recognized subfamilies have been isolated from plant tissue and have been described. Silica-body shapes are significant at varying taxonomic levels, from the family to the genus. The Bambusoideae, especially, contribute large numbers of tribal- and genus-specific forms. Significant correlations are found between phytolith shape and the source plant's taxonomic relationships and postulated phylogeny. Disarticulated short-cell phytoliths occurring in ancient soils and sediments can be used to make identifications of certain taxa in the Poaceae below the level of family. Silica bodies observed in fossil grasses may elucidate the evolutionary history of the Poaceae.