Floral symmetry

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[Left] Normal Streptocarpus flower (zygomorphic or mirror-symmetric), and [right] peloric (radially
symmetric) flower on the same plant

Floral symmetry describes whether, and how, a flower, in particular its perianth, can be
divided into two or more identical or mirror-image parts.
Uncommonly, flowers may have no axis of symmetry at all, typically because their parts
are spirally arranged.
Contents
[hide]

1Actinomorphic

2Zygomorphic

3Asymmetric

4Differences

5Peloria

6Floral symmetry groups

7See also

8References

9Bibliography

Actinomorphic[edit]
Further information: Merosity

Wurmbea stricta, its tepalsin actinomorphic arrangement

Most flowers are actinomorphic ("star shaped", "radial"), meaning they can be divided
into 3 or more identical sectors which are related to each other by rotation about the
centre of the flower. Typically, each sector might contain one tepal or one petal and one
sepal and so on. It may or may not be possible to divide the flower into symmetrical
halves by the same number of longitudinal planes passing through the axis: Oleander is
an example of a flower without such mirror planes. Actinomorphic flowers are also
called radially symmetrical or regular flowers. Other examples of actinomorphic flowers
are the lily (Lilium, Liliaceae) and the buttercup (Ranunculus, Ranunculaceae).

Zygomorphic[edit]

Satyrium carneum. Ground orchid with typical zygomorphic floral anatomy

Zygomorphic ("yoke shaped", "bilateral" - from the Greek ,zygon, yoke, and
,morphe, shape) flowers can be divided by only a single plane into two mirror-

image halves, much like a yoke or a person's face. Examples are orchids and the flowers
of most members of the Lamiales (e.g., Scrophulariaceae and Gesneriaceae). Some
authors prefer the term monosymmetry or bilateral symmetry.[1]

Asymmetric[edit]
A few plant species have flowers lacking any symmetry, and therefore having a
"handedness". Examples are Valeriana officinalis and Canna indica.[2]

Differences[edit]
Actinomorphic flowers are a basal angiosperm character; zygomorphic flowers are a
derived character that has evolved many times.[3]
Some familiar and seemingly actinomorphic so-called flowers, such as those
of daisies and dandelions (Asteraceae), and most species of Protea, are actually clusters
of tiny (not necessarily actinomorphic) flowers arranged into a roughly radially
symmetric inflorescence of the form known as a head, capitulum, or pseudanthium.

Peloria[edit]

Digitalis purpurea(common foxglove) displaying an aberrant peloric terminal flower and

normal zygomorphic flowers

Peloria or a peloric flower refers to an aberration in which a plant that normally

produces zygomorphic flowers produces actinomorphic flowers instead. This aberration
can be developmental, or it can have a genetic basis: the CYCLOIDEA gene controls
floral symmetry. Peloric Antirrhinum plants have been produced by knocking out this
gene.[3] Many modern cultivars of Sinningia speciosa ("gloxinia") have been bred to have
peloric flowers as they are larger and showier than the normally zygomorphic flowers of
this species.
Charles Darwin explored peloria in Antirrhinum (snapdragon) while researching the
inheritance of floral characteristics for his The Variation of Animals and Plants under

Domestication.[4] Later research, using Digitalis purpurea, showed that his results[5] were
largely in line with Mendelian theory.[6]

Floral symmetry groups[edit]

If we consider only those flowers which consist in a single flower, rather than a flower
head or inflorescence, we can group the flowers into a relatively small number of 2D
symmetry groups. Monocots are identifiable by their trimerous petals, thus monocots
often have rotational symmetry of order 3. If the flower also has 3 lines of mirror
symmetry the group it belongs to is the dihedral group D3. If not, then it belongs to
the cyclic group C3. Eudicots with tetramerous or pentamerous petals may have
rotational symmetry of order 4 or 5. Again, whether they also have mirror planes decides
whether they belong to dihedral (D4 and D5) or cyclic groups (C4 or C5). The sepals of
some monocot flowers develop to replicate the petals, thus, superficially, certain
monocots can appear to have rotational symmetry of order 6 and belong to either
symmetry group D6 or C6. It must be remembered however, that flower symmetry is
rarely perfect in the way that geometric symmetry is. The general layout of a flower
belongs to the above symmetry groups, but an individual flower will not show exact
symmetry.[citation needed]

See also[edit]

Patterns in nature

Phyllotaxis

Symmetry in biology

Whorl (botany)

References[edit]
1.

Jump up^ Craene 2010, p. 25.

2.

Jump up^ Weberling, Focko (1992). Morphology of Flowers and Inflorescences.

Cambridge University Press. p. 19. ISBN 0 521 25134 6.

3.

^ Jump up to:a b Losos, J.B.; Mason, K.A; Singer, S.R. Biology (8th ed.). New
York: McGraw Hill.

4.

Jump up^ Darwin 1868, pp. 3334

5.

Jump up^ Darwin 1868, p. 46

6.

Jump up^ Keeble, Frederick; Pellew, C; Jones, WN (1910). "The Inheritance of

Peloria and Flower-Colour in Foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea)". New
Phytologist. 9. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.1910.tb05554.x. JSTOR 2427515.