Development of the flower and inflorescence of Arum italicum (Araceae)

The spadix of Arum italicum Miller consists of two main parts: a clavate sterile portion (appendix) and a cylindroid fertile portion. In the fertile portion with both male and female zones, there are two zones of sterile flowers (bristles). The basal portion of bristles is surrounded by a verrucose structure consisting of a mass of tissular excrescences. During early stages of development, there is no free space between the different zones of the inflorescence. The elongation of the inflorescence axis is what eventually separates the different zones from each other. There are no atypical flowers that are morphologically intermediate between male and female flowers as is the case in other genera of Aroideae (e.g., Cercestis, Philodendron, Schismatoglottis). The structure of the bristles in the inflorescences of Arum does not correspond to any type of atypical flower (unisexual or bisexual) that has been analysed previously in the Araceae. From a developmental point of view, it is not possible to determine if the bristles correspond to aborted or modified female or male flowers. In the early stages of development, the stamens, staminodes, and appendix are covered by globular masses of extracellular calcium oxalate crystals. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT] Key words: development, unisexual flowers, gradient, calcium oxalate crystals.