A Serotaxonomic Appraisal of Amphipterygium and Leitneria-Two Amentiferous Taxa of Rutiflorae (Rosidae)

Amphipterygium glaucum and Leitneria floridana in the past have been placed in the artificial grouping Amentiferae. With the breakup of Amentiferae these two taxa have been var- iously assigned to Fagales, Geraniales, Hamamelidales, Juglandales, and Sapindales. Serological experiments used antigens obtained from pollen protein extracts from 26 taxa belonging to 22 genera from 13 families with supposed affinities to Amphipterygium and Leitneria and antisera ob- tained from injections of pollen protein extracts from Ailanthus altissima, Amphipterygium glaucum, Leitneria floridana, and Rhus copallina. Techniques utilized included double diffusion, one dimen- sional immunoelectrophoresis, line immunoelectrophoresis, radial immunodiffusion, and absorbed antibody. Data revealed that both Amphipterygium and Leitneria shared closest serological affinities with those experimental taxa from the Rutiflorae. Specifically, anti-Amphipterygium serum had strongest reactivity with Rhus and Toxicodendron, while anti-Leitneria had strongest reactivity with Ailanthus and Picrasma of Simaroubaceae. Data supported other researchers who had reported sim- ilarities with taxa of Rutiflorae.