Rw. Cruden et Rm. Lloyd, EMBRYOPHYTES HAVE EQUIVALENT SEXUAL PHENOTYPES AND BREEDING SYSTEMS -WHY NOT A COMMON TERMINOLOGY TO DESCRIBE THEM, American journal of botany, 82(6), 1995, pp. 816-825
From our review of the literature it is clear that bryophytes, pterido
phytes, and flowering plants, indeed most embryophytes, have equivalen
t sexual phenotypes and mating/breeding systems. We demonstrate that t
hese phenotypes can be described with a common terminology, even thoug
h the reproductive structures of the groups are quite different. We co
nsider morphological, functional, and temporal phenotypes and recommen
d the use of common terms such as unisexual, bisexual, male, female, a
nd hermaphroditic in lieu of taxon-specific terms such as monoclinous,
staminate, and perichaetial. We use self- and cross-fertilization and
self- and cross-pollination to describe those processes. Likewise, in
breeding, mixed-breeding, and outbreeding can be used to describe bree
ding systems. Automixis, autogamy, facultative xenogamy, and xenogamy
provide a more precise circumscription of mating/breeding systems. The
use of well-known terms and a common terminology should improve commu
nication among systematists, reproductive biologists, and/or evolution
ary biologists, whether they work with bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymn
osperms, or angiosperms, and with the broader biological community.