A Review of Inflorescences in Myrteae (Myrtaceae): Concepts, Terminology and Usage

Myrtaceae is a diverse family with a center of diversity in South America, Australia and Southeast Asia, whose ecological and evolutionary histories have been the focus of various studies. Such diversity also reflects into a rich variety of morphological, developmental, and evolutionary aspects, including the architecture of inflorescences. Here, we propose a systematic survey of the literature to better understand the profile and the approaches of scientific studies about inflorescences in general and then, specifically in myrtaceous plants of the tribe Myrteae. We found that most published works in this field focus on Monocotyledons, with China and the USA leading in number of publications. Transversal studies across plant families or focusing on important crops/models yield more citations. Ecological studies on inflorescences (especially pollination) have a strong theoretical framework, while structural, developmental, and evolutionary areas lack a common body of references. Scientific production is biased towards economically important plant families, neglecting biodiverse ones like Myrtaceae. Our results point out to the necessity of efforts toward a terminological unification/clarification and of morphological and ontogenetical studies to better circumscribe and describe inflorescences in myrtaceous plants, making results comparable allowing broader studies that may have important impacts in different fields of research.