EMBRYOPHYTES HAVE EQUIVALENT SEXUAL PHENOTYPES AND BREEDING SYSTEMS -WHY NOT A COMMON TERMINOLOGY TO DESCRIBE THEM

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.