Feddes Repertorium 122 (2011), 1 – 9 © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim 0014-8962 2121261 Feddes Repertorium 1-2/2011 ((2012))__FED00003r.doc VM3: Kraus/Pfü./Kr. Beitrag: Trovó Review Article Diaspores in Eriocaulaceae: morphology, mechanisms, and implications MARCELO TROVÓ* & THOMAS STÜTZEL Evolution and Biodiversity of Plants, Faculty for Biology and Biotechnology. Ruhr University, D-44780 Bochum, Germany Keywords: Dispersal, Fruits, Poales, Seeds * Corresponding author: Universitätsstr. 150, Bochum, D-44780 Germany Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, CEP 21941-590, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil E-mail: martrovo@gmail.com Accepted for publication: July 2 nd , 2012. DOI 10.1002/fedr.201200003 Abstract Although diaspores and the dispersal mechanisms are keystones to tackle the evolution of Eriocau- laceae, most of the useful information is lost in taxonomic and morphological papers in a more or less unstructured way. This survey intends thus to summarize and organize the relevant information available and point new insights. Observations and photographs were made in the field, together with complementary experiments. The seeds are the smallest dispersal units and are released by the shrinkage of the pericarp. They are rarely dispersed alone but normally within the fruits or parts of it. The fruits can be released from the capitula by dif- ferent systems: shrinkage of the dry receptacle and consequent release of all flowers and fruits or only the fruits, anemoballistic mechanism, catapult me- chanism, and elevator mechanism. The capitula, with scapes or not, may serve as dispersal units as well. The different dispersal mechanisms seem to be deeply related to the geographic distribution of Erio- caulaceae species and may serve also to taxonomic and phylogenetic purposes. From the current stand point we encourage future studies in this area, ex- plicitly associated with molecular studies on the population level. 1 Introduction Since the monographs by BONGARD (1831), MARTIUS (1834), KOERNICKE (1863), and RUHLAND (1903), the morphology, mecha- nisms, and implications of diaspores in Erio- caulaceae are known to vary within a wide range. The knowledge on dispersal units in Eriocaulaceae has increased in the last 30 years by the details provided by STÜTZEL (1981; 1984), GIULIETTI (1984), GIULIETTI et al. (1988), HENSOLD (1988), SANO (1996; 1999), and several others. Most of the useful informa- tion is however byproduct in the context of other studies and was compiled in a more or less unstructured way. Additionally, parts of it have never been published and were exposed only as congress contributions. Diaspores in Eriocaulaceae are of relevance in different contexts. First, the considerable morphological variation seems to be helpful as diagnostic characters and may also supply a useful phylogenetic signal in several cases. Second, the different types of diaspores lead to different dispersal distances. While some me- chanisms work only for short distances and may thus favor micro-endemism of closely