On the Origin of Plant Tissues: Advantages and Limitations of Anatomy

Abstract

The progress of the phylogenetic systematics of organisms based on molecular genetic analysis, as well as the development of many applied biological disciplines, is impossible without the modern development of classical methods of investigation, particularly the anatomical ones, which have been overshadowed in recent decades. There are many relevant issues in botany, that cannot be solved without using anatomical methods of investigation. By examining three cases representing three major clades of seed plants (gymnosperms – Araucariaceae; eudicots – Hamamelidaceae; and monocots – Pandanaceae) we highlighted both the advantages and limitations of anatomical methods in plant research. These objects have been selected to show a ‘freeze-frame’ of the process of the origin of a new complex structure at the current evolutionary moment. The importance of further advancing methodological principles in anatomy was emphasized, along with the need for a balanced synthesis of ‘traditional’ and ‘innovative’ botanical disciplines for the further development of plant science.