gnetophyte

▪ plant

Introduction

      any member of the division Gnetophyta, a small group of gymnospermous vascular plants that are represented by three living genera: Ephedra, Gnetum, and Welwitschia. There are 65 species in the genus Ephedra, 30 or more in Gnetum, but only one in Welwitschia. The three genera exhibit great diversity in the immense variety of form and size among the various species.

General features

      Most species of Ephedra are branched shrubs (or rarely small trees) while others are vinelike, often clambering over other vegetation. Species are distributed in dry and cool regions in both the Eastern and Western hemispheres. In the Western Hemisphere, Ephedra occurs in desert areas in the southwestern United States, part of Mexico, and a wide area in South America. In the Eastern Hemisphere, a species occurs in Kashmir at an elevation of 5,300 metres (nearly 17,400 feet), the highest altitude known for any vascular plant. Ephedra, known as ma-huang, has been a common medicine in China for thousands of years. The effective product, ephedrine, is prescribed for colds, to break a fever and induce sweating, and as a decongestant. Stem fragments of species in the southwestern United States and Mexico are used in the preparation of Mormon tea, Mexican tea, squaw tea, and desert tea. The drug ephedrine is now manufactured synthetically.

      Most of the 30 species of Gnetum are lianas that climb high into trees of tropical rain forests in central Africa, Asia, northern South America, and islands between Australia and Asia. Some species, such as G. gnemon, are trees about nine metres tall. The leaves are large, much like those of many flowering plants. The seeds are eaten cooked or roasted, and young leaves also are eaten.

      The most unusual and geographically restricted gnetophyte is Welwitschia mirabilis (tumboa), which is unlike any other known plant in the world. It occurs in the Namib Desert of southwestern Africa near the coast of Angola and Namibia, as well as inland to about 150 kilometres. (Rainfall on the Namib Desert ranges from zero to 100 millimetres [four inches] per year). There are only two large, permanent, arching leaves; they split, and the tips die when they touch the hot sand. It is not clear how the plant obtains sufficient water to meet its needs. There is a taproot that may extend downward for 1.5 metres or more before it divides into numerous thin roots, which must tap a supply of water not available to other plants of the desert.

Form and function

stem

      In Ephedra the stems have finely ridged joints, the basis for the common name joint fir. Superficially, the stems resemble those of the genus Equisetum. The leaves are arranged in pairs on the stem or in whorls of three with their bases forming a sheath around the stem at a node. The bulk of photosynthesis occurs in the green stems. Reduction in leaf surface may be related to the necessity of reducing water loss through the process of transpiration, a requirement for existence in a desert environment.

      The stems of Gnetum are less remarkable, although one species produces its main leaves on short side branches (short shoots). The stem of Welwitschia at maturity is a short broad crown, often branched into three growing points and mostly hidden by the leaves.

      One of the physical features that distinguish the gnetophytes from other gymnospermous divisions is the presence of vessels (vessel) in the xylem (wood). A vessel is a longitudinal row of cells, called vessel members, which have several to many circular perforations in their end walls at maturity, providing an efficient pathway for the movement of water in the plant body. The possession of vessels is characteristic of the flowering plants (angiosperms) as well, and has led to speculation that gnetophytes, especially Gnetum, may have been close to the ancestral stock of some angiosperms.

Leaves (leaf)

      The leaves of Ephedra, Gnetum, and Welwitschia are strikingly different in form and venation and provide morphological characters that are definitive for each of the genera.

      The leaves of most Ephedra species are reduced or scalelike, although in some species they may grow to three centimetres in length. The leaves of most species have two primary veins, which are connected to two axial stem vascular bundles.

      The leaves of Gnetum resemble those of the angiosperms (the flowering plants) in form, structure, and venation. Two leaves at a node are broad and have a pinnate venation system (one midvein with lateral secondary veins that run to the leaf margin) and a meshwork of smaller veins. Older stems become hard by the production of wood (secondary xylem).

      A conspicuous vegetative feature of Welwitschia is the presence of two large permanent leaves. When a seed germinates, two seed leaves (cotyledons) emerge, followed by the production of the two permanent leaves. There are also two inconspicuous scalelike leaves that overtop the stem tip. Soon after the development of the main two leaves, growth activity shifts away from the tip of the stem (the apical meristem) to the bases of the two permanent leaves. Growth in this region takes place in a meristematic zone, which adds tissue at the base of each leaf. This development results in a bilobed crown and later to a circular concave disk surmounted by a band of meristematic tissue, which continues to contribute new tissue to the two large leaves. Thus, growth in Welwitschia has shifted from developing height to developing the two leaves outward. The leaves are perpetuated by the basal meristem at the rate of eight to 15 centimetres per year. The leaves become split and frayed in old plants. A leaf of one giant was reported to have an unbroken width of 1.8 metres and a length of 6.2 metres, of which 3.7 metres were of living tissue. Some plants are estimated to be 1,500 to 2,000 years old.

      It is not known for certain how a plant with gigantic leaves such as Welwitschia can exist in a desert and carry on photosynthesis if the pores (stomata) of a leaf remain open during the heat of the day. There are also about 100 days of brief morning fog. Water accumulates on the leaves and is thought to enter them, although the process has never been proved. More recently CO₂ has been shown to be taken up during the daylight hours through open stomata, leading to a tremendous loss of water by transpiration for the purpose of cooling the leaf surface.

Reproductive structures and function

      The reproductive structures of gnetophytes are contained within strobili, or cones (cone). Most species are dioecious; i.e., one individual plant produces either pollen-producing or seed-producing cones, called microsporangiate and megasporangiate strobili, respectively. The two types of strobili are basically the same, consisting of oppositely arranged bracts (bract) in the axils of which are short fertile shoots.

      In Ephedra each fertile shoot of a pollen cone consists of an elongated modified structure, a microsporophyll or a microsporangiophore, which terminates in a cluster of sporangia, called microsporangia, that house the haploid reproductive cells (spores). The microsporangia are surrounded by a pair of bracteoles (scalelike leaves). Meiotic divisions in cells of the microsporangia produce the haploid pollen grains.

      When shed from the microsporangia, the pollen grains (or male gametophytes) consist of five cells contained within the pollen-grain wall. The pollen grains are boat-shaped, with longitudinal ridges and furrows that run from one end of the grain to the other. Pollen of this type has been identified in the fossil record from the Permian Period (about 299 to 251 million years ago) to the present.

      Megasporangiate, or seed-producing, strobili (female cones) consist of oppositely paired bracts in the axils of which are fertile shoots consisting of paired bracteoles enclosing an ovule—the forerunner of a seed. The ovule consists of a delicate inner envelope, called an integument, that encloses a tissue (nucellus) in which a cell divides meiotically to produce a row of haploid cells called megaspores. One megaspore greatly enlarges and undergoes mitotic divisions, producing multiple nuclei (nucleus) that are not surrounded by walls. After 500 to 1,000 nuclei are produced, cell walls begin to form, converting the megagametophyte (or female gametophyte) into a cellular structure. At the upper end, egg-bearing protective structures called archegonia are formed, each of which contains a haploid egg cell.

pollination and embryogeny

      Just before the transfer of pollen grains to the ovule (pollination) some cells of the nucellus degenerate and a viscous solution is extruded through the opening (micropyle) of the now-extended integument. A pollination drop is formed at the tip of the integument. Transfer of pollen may be either by wind or insects. The pollination drop is very high in sugar content and attracts insects. As the sugary pollination drop dries, the pollen grains are pulled inward through the integument and come to rest on the nucellus. The pollen grain germinates, and a pollen tube enters the egg cell of the archegonium. A mature male gamete (sperm) fuses with the mature egg nucleus, bringing about fertilization. Eight or more diploid nuclei are produced and soon become surrounded by cellulose-containing walls. Each of these young embryos may develop, although only one generally reaches a fully developed stage in the mature seed (seed and fruit). A seed consists of an embryo with two seed leaves (cotyledons), a stem axis, and a root, embedded in nutritive tissue of the female gametophyte. The pair of protective bracteoles become hard, and the seed is also surrounded by fleshy bracts that may become ivory, red, or orange in colour, perhaps an adaptation for animal dispersal. There appears to be no resting stage or dormant period for the seed, which may germinate immediately upon dispersal.

      The strobili of Gnetum are compact or may become elongate with conspicuous nodes and internodes. In a microsporangiate, or pollen-producing, strobilus there are two fused bracts at each node forming a cup-shaped structure (collar) that encloses numerous fertile shoots. Each fertile unit consists of two bracteoles enclosing a microsporophyll or microsporangiophore with two sporangia at the tip. There may also be a top whorl of abortive ovules at each node.

      The megasporangiate (ovulate) strobilus likewise consists of conspicuous nodes, each with a fused pair of bracts subtending several ovules. Each ovule comprises an integument and two ensheathing structures called envelops. In Gnetum, in contrast to Ephedra, fertilization occurs before the haploid female gametophyte becomes completely cellular. Nuclei become surrounded by membranes. A pollen tube pushes into the female gametophyte, and a male gamete fertilizes an egg. Several pollen tubes may enter the female gametophyte, resulting in more than one fertilization, although normally only one embryo develops to maturity. The seeds become fleshy and often are brightly coloured.

      In Welwitschia, branched reproductive shoot systems arise from the meristematic tissue at the bases of the two large permanent leaves. In both types of strobili, paired bracts and fertile shoots develop from the axils, as is true of the other two genera of gnetophytes. The fertile shoot of a microstrobilus has two pairs of bracteoles, the inner pair of which are fused, enclosing six microsporangiophores and a sterile ovule. In a megastrobilus the fertile shoot is made up of a pair of basal bracteoles and a pair of fused bracteoles surrounding an ovule.

      At the time of pollination the integument of a fertile ovule in the female elongates and a pollination drop is formed at the tip. A cell in the nucellus of the female ovule undergoes meiosis, but no cell walls are formed between the four haploid nuclei. The four nuclei and their derivatives undergo repeated mitoses without cell-wall formation. Only later do cell walls form around several nuclei. No archegonia are formed. Subsequent development of the female gametophyte is without parallel in other gymnosperms or in angiosperms.

      Some of the multinucleate female gametophyte cells grow into the nucellus of the ovule, into which the nuclei migrate. Pollen tubes, which grow downward in the nucellus from the male pollen grains after pollination, meet and fuse with the upwardly growing multinucleate tubes of the female gametophyte. “Fertilization bulbs” are formed, within which fusion takes place between a male gamete and one nucleus of the female gametophyte cells. A zygote is formed, and the young embryo then grows downward within the female gametophyte tube toward the cellular female gametophyte.

      The later stages of embryo development take place within the tissue of the female gametophyte. A mature, ripe seed consists of a dicotyledonous embryo embedded in the female gametophyte and surrounded by papery fused bracteoles, constituting a “wing,” which probably assists in seed dispersal.

Classification (taxonomy)

Annotated classification

Division Gnetophyta (gnetophyte)

 Longitudinal files of cells with pores in end walls (vessels) in xylem (wood); dioecious; strobili (cones) consist of bracts, in the axils of which are the reproductive structures, which have been likened to flowers of angiosperms.

      Order Ephedrales

 Shrubs to small trees; small leaves with 2 or 3 veins; mature cones often become fleshy and brightly coloured; 1 family, Ephedraceae; 1 genus, Ephedra, with 65 species.

      Order Gnetales

 Mostly vines, but a few trees; large flat leaves that have reticulate venation; seeds may be brightly coloured; 1 family, Gnetaceae; (Gnetaceae) 1 genus, Gnetum, with about 30 species.

      Order Welwitschiales

 2 immense, permanent leaves, which become split and frayed with age; seeds with winglike extensions that may aid in dispersal; restricted to Namib Desert of Africa and vicinity; 1 family, Welwitschiaceae, with 1 member, Welwitschia mirabilis (tumboa).

Critical appraisal

      There have been attempts to demonstrate that the gnetophytes form a link between gymnosperms and angiosperms. Proponents of this concept cite the compound nature of both the pollen-producing and seed-producing strobili (some botanists have interpreted the strobili as “inflorescences”; i.e., the axillary fertile shoots of both types of cones are considered to be flowers); and the presence of vessels in the xylem (wood), a major difference between gnetophytes and all other gymnosperms. In recognition of these similarities, a classification has been proposed that placed the gnetophytes in the group Chlamydospermae, a group between the gymnosperms and the angiosperms. The word “chlamydospermae” means a seed with a “cloak,” or envelope, a reference to pairs of bracteoles (scalelike structures) that surround a seed. However, most botanists do not currently believe that this system is accurate and instead place the three genera in three separate families in the order Gnetales.

      More recently, the trend has been to establish a major group, the Gnetophyta (a division) or Gnetopsida (a class), consisting of three orders—Ephedrales, Gnetales, and Welwitschiales—each comprising one family and one genus. This system recognizes that there are certain shared characteristics but at the same time recognizes that there are significant differences between them. Modern studies, particularly molecular research comparing various gene sequences in the DNA, have further established that the flowering plants did not evolve directly from a gnetophyte ancestor.

      The existence of gnetophytes in the fossil record has been based primarily upon the presence of pollen grains resembling those of Ephedra and Welwitschia. Leafy shoots, seedlings, and microstrobili similar to Welwitschia from the Early Cretaceous have been found associated with Welwitschia-type pollen.

Ernest M. Gifford

Additional Reading

Chris H. Bornman, Welwitschia: Paradox of a Parched Paradise (1978), is a brief study of Welwitschia mirabilis. Information on the fossil history of gnetophytes is detailed in Thomas N. Taylor and Edith L. Taylor, The Biology and Evolution of Fossil Plants (1993). Harold C. Bold, Constantine J. Alexopoulos, and Theodore Delevoryas, Morphology of Plants and Fungi, 5th ed. (1987), describes the life cycle and morphology of living gnetophytes. K.U. Kramer and P.S. Green (eds.), Pteridophytes and Gymnosperms (1990), summarizes the classification of gnetophytes.

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