Wood Anatomy and Relationships of Montinia

Quantitative and qualitative data are presented on wood anatomy of root, basal stem, and upper stem of Montinia caryophyllacea. Anatomy of twig wood of Kaliphora madagascariensis is compared with these results, as is the data of Ramamonjiarisoa (1980) on wood of the genus Grevea. Features common to the three genera in wood as well as other portions of the plant are reviewed; these are consistent with the interpretation that Montinia and Kaliphora are very close to each other, despite previous positions of the two genera in Saxifragaceae and Comaceae, respectively. Grevea, although more distant from Montinia than is Ka/iphora, can be included in a trigeneric family, Montiniaceae. The ordinal position of Montinia is reviewed in terms of Rosales (Saxifragales) and Myrtales. Resemblances between Montiniaceae and rosalean families are fewer than resemblances between Montiniaceae and myrtalean families. Montiniaceae have (in part) storied wood structure, a feature not found in Rosales or Myrtales sensu stricto. However, storied structure does occur in Thymeleaceae, which have sometimes been placed in or near Myrtales. Both Montiniaceae and Thymeleaceae might be regarded as outliers ofMyrtales, closer to that order than to others. The presence ofiridoid compounds in Montinia complicates the task of placement.