DOI: 10.5061/dryad.zcrjdfnnf
title: Anther modes influence diversification rates in the animal-pollinated species-rich Didymocarpoideae

description: Stamen traits significantly influence pollen presentation patterns and
 play a critical role in mating systems, floral evolution, and the
 diversification of angiosperms. Anthers within a flower can either develop
 freely or be united, resulting in three primary modes: separated anthers,
 synandry, and paired-united anthers. The impact of these anther modes on
 species diversification remains inadequately understood. In this study, we
 employed 14 plastid and nuclear ribosomal markers from 789 species to
 reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships of the Old World
 Didymocarpoideae, which are predominantly bee-pollinated. We then
 investigated the evolutionary patterns of anther modes and assessed their
 potential role in species diversification. Our findings indicate that the
 evolution of anther modes and associated floral traits exhibited
 significant trait conservatism. Paired-united anthers likely represent the
 ancestral form of Didymocarpoideae, characterized by four fertile stamens
 with exserted locations for the anthers. Notably, derived synandry was
 associated with relatively high rates of species diversification,
 particularly in the species-rich Cyrtandra, Primulina, and Streptocarpus,
 which could be due to enhanced pollination precision
 facilitated by aggregations of anthers and pollen grains. This study
 elucidates the evolutionary transitions of different anther modes while
 highlighting their influence on diversification rates within
 Didymocarpoideae.
description: # Phylogenetic conservatism and evolutionary transitions of anther modes
 in a clade of species rich animal-pollinated herbs
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.zcrjdfnnf](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.zcrjdfnnf) ## Description of the data and file structure Supplementary Material S1. Available sequences information of Didymocarpoideae in present study. Vouchers and Genbank accession numbers for 786 species of Didymocarpoideae obtained from the literature are presented, and the available sequences include nuclear (ITS and ETS) and 12 chloroplast (matK, atpB-rbcL, ndhA-intron, pabA-trnH, rpoB-trnC, rpl16, rpl20-rps12, rpl32, rpl32-trnL, trnC-petN, trnL-F, and trnT-L) DNA regions. Supplementary Material S2. Description of floral traits of Didymocarpoideae in this study. These floral traits include anther modes, corolla symmetry, number of fertile stamens, stamen location, corolla size, floral showiness, floral shape, corolla constriction, corolla curvature, and corolla ornamentation. Supplementary Material S3. Information of floral traits of 786 species of Didymocarpoideae. We assigned states for each taxon regarding the following ten traits: (1) anther modes (synandry, paired-united anthers, separated anthers), (2) corolla symmetry (actinomorphy, zygomorphy), (3) number of fertile stamens (four or five, two), (4) anther location (anther exerted out of the floral tube, anther included in the floral tube), (5) corolla size (small [corolla width ≤ 0.6 cm], large [corolla width &gt; 0.6 cm]), (6) floral showiness (plain [white, green], showy [red, orange, yellow, purple]), (7) floral shape (tubular, slender tubular, tubular-funnel, campanulate, urceolate, rotate), (8) corolla constriction (present, absent), (9) corolla curvature (present, absent), and (10) corolla ornamentation, such as dots or stripes on the corolla (present, absent).