DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY

TOPIC - GNETUM

Presented To : Presented By :
Dr. Yashwant Kumar Ananya Tiwari
Assistant Professor M.Sc. 1st Semester
Department of Botany Department of Botany
C.M.P. Degree College C.M.P. Degree College
MONOGRAPHIC
STUDY OF THE
GENUS: GNETUM
OVERVIEW:
GNETUM IS A GENUS OF GYMNOSPERMS, THE SOLE GENUS IN THE FAMILY
GNETACEAE WITHIN THE GNETOPHYTA. THEY ARE TROPICAL EVERGREEN
TREES, SHRUBS AND LIANAS. UNLIKE OTHER GYMNOSPERMS, THEY
POSSESS VESSEL ELEMENTS IN THE XYLEM.
DISTRIBUTION OF GNETUM
Gnetum is native to Southeast Asia and the
western Pacific Ocean islands. Some species of
Gnetum found in India include:

G. Edule: Found in the wet tropical biomes of

southwest and southeastern India, including the
Karakoram–West Tibetan Plateau, North Western
Ghats, South Deccan Plateau, and Malabar Coast
• G. Ula: A woody climber found in the Western
Ghats, Kerala forests, Nilgiris, and Godawari
district of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa.
MORPHOLOGY OF GNETUM:
Here are some morphological features of Gnetum:

Leaves: Gnetum leaves are large, broad, and oval-shaped, with pinnate-
reticulate venation and multiple vein orders. They are opposite, stalked, and
have slightly leathery leaf blades.

Roots: Young Gnetum roots have several layers of starch-filled parenchymatous

cortex, with an endodermal layer and Casparian strips. The roots are diarch
and exarch, and have a continuous zone of wood in older roots.

Flowers: Gnetum flowers are arranged in compound strobili or inflorescences.

The male strobilus consists of a stamen and perianth, while the female
strobilus consists of an ovule with two integuments and perianth.

Growth form: Gnetum is usually a tree or shrub with a single straight trunk
marked with conspicuous rings.
• Wood: Gnetum wood contains tracheids, and is otherwise typical of
gymnosperms, but also contains vessels, which is another angiosperm trait
ANATOMICAL FEATURES
Roots: Young roots have a starch-filled cortex with large,
polygonal cells. The endodermis layer has Casparian strips,
and the roots are diarch and exarch.

Seeds: Gnetum seeds are oval or elongated, green to red in

color, and surrounded by a three-layered envelope. The
outer layer is fleshy and gives the seed its color. The middle
layer is made up of an outer parenchymatous region and a
thick layer of sclereids.

Leaves: Gnetum leaves are similar to dicot leaves, with a

broad lamina, pinnate-reticulate venation, and multiple vein
orders. They have a cuticularized epidermis and stomata on
both sides, except on the veins.

• Stem: The periderm is thin and has lenticels, which are

pores that allow for gas exchange. The secondary wood is
made up of tracheids and vessel.

• Vascular bundle: Gnetum vascular bundles are conjoint,

collateral, open, and end-arch in a ring. The xylem is
made up of tracheids and xylem vessels, and the phloem
is made up of sieve cells and phloem parenchyma
REPRODUCTION IN GNETUM:
• Gnetum is dioecious. The reproductive
organs are organised into well-developed
cones or strobili. These cones are
organised into inflorescences, generally of
panicle type. Sometimes the cones are
terminal in position. A cone consists of a
cone axis, at the base of which are present
wo opposite and connate bracts. Nodes
and internodes are present in the cone
axis. Whorls of circular bracts are present
on the nodes. These are arranged one
above the other to form cupulas or collars.
Flowers are present in these collars. Upper
few collars may be reduced and are sterile
in nature in G. Gnemon.
FEMALE CONES IN GNETUM
• The female cones resemble with the male cones except in some
definite aspects. A single ring of 4-10 female flowers or ovules is
present just above each collar. Only a few of the ovules develop into
mature seeds. In the young condition, there is hardly any external
difference between female and male cones. All the ovules are of the
same size when young but later on a ew of them enlarge and
develop into mature seeds. All the ovules never mature into seeds.
Each ovule consists of a nucellus surrounded of three envelopes. The
nucellus consists of central mass of cells. The inner envelope
elongates beyond the middle envelope to form the micropylar tube
or style. The nucellus contains the female gametophyte. There is no
nucellar beak in the ovule of Gnetum. Stomata, sclereids and
laticiferous cells are present in the two outer envelopes. Madhulata
(1960) observed the formation of a circular rim from the outer
epidermis of the inner integument in G. Gnemon. Thoday (1921),
however, observed the formation of a second such rim at a higher
level. The ovules in G. Ula are stalked.
MALE CONES IN GNETUM
• The male flowers are arranged in definite
rings above each collar on the nodes of the
axis of male cone. The number of rings varies
between 3-6. The male flowers in the rings
are arranged alternately. There is a ring of
abortive ovules or imperfect female flowers
above the rings of male flowers. Each male
flower contains two coherent bracts which
form the perianth. Two unilocular anthers
remain attached on a short stalk enclosed
within the perianth. At maturity, when the
anthers are ready for dehiscence, the stalk
elongates and the anthers come out of the
perianth sheath. In Gnetum gnemon a few
FERTILIZATION
• The fertilization in Gnetum has been studied only by a few
workers. Vasil (1959) studied this phenomenon in G. ula. At the
time of fertilization, the pollen tube pierces through the
membrane of the female gametophyte just near to a group of
densely cytoplasmic cells. The tip of pollen tube bursts and the
male cells are released. One of the male cells enters the egg
cell. The male and female nuclei, after lying side by side for
some time, fuse with each other and form the zygote. According
to Swamy (1973), the only identifying features of the zygote are
its spherical shape and dense cytoplasm. Both the male cells of
a pollen tube may remain functional if two eggs are present
close to the pollen tube.
 ENDOSPERM
• In all gymnosperms, except Gnetum, a cellular
endosperm develops before fertilization. In Gnetum,
the cell formation, although starts before fertilization, a
part of the gametophyte remains free-nuclear at the
time of fertilization. After fertilization the wall formation
in the female gametophyte starts in such a way that
the cytoplasm gets divided into many compartments.
Each of these compartments contains many nuclei. All
the nuclei of one compartment fuse and form a single
nucleus. The wall formation starts from the base and
proceeds upwards. The wall formation varies greatly in
Gnetum. Only the lower portion of the gametophyte
may become cellular leaving the remaining upper
portion free-nuclear. Sometimes the entire
gametophyte may become cellular
KARYOTYPE

Gnetum has 41 species and the chromosome number is 44

(3), 44, 48 (1). The somatic number is shown by 2n=44.
Majority of the gymnosperm species (64.6 %) are
dioecious .Hermaphrodite represented by Cycadidae,
Gnetidae, Ginkgo and some species in Pinidae and the rest
are hermaphrodite monoecious (Ohri & Rastogi 2019).
Therefore, in dioecious taxa many studies have tried to show
sex determination based on heteromorphism of sex
chromosomes where either heteromorphic sex is malle with
XX/XY or female with ZZ/WZ system.
 PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIP WITH
ANGIOSPERMS AND OTHER GYMNOSPERMS

• Gnetum and Other Gymnosperms:

•
• Some of the characteristics common in both Gnetum and other gymnosperms are under
mentioned:
• 1. Wood having tracheids with bordered pits.
• 2. No sieve tubes and companion cells are present.
• 3. Presence of naked ovules.
• 4. Absence of fruit formation because of the absence of ovary.
• 5. Anemophilous type of pollination.
SIMILARITIES WITH ANGIOSPERMS

SOME OF THE RESEMBLANCES BETWEEN GNETUM AND ANGIOSPERMS ARE UNDER

MENTIONED:
1. THE GENERAL HABIT OF THE SPOROPHYTE OF MANY SPECIES OF GNETUM RESEMBLES
WITH ANGIOSPERMS.
2. RETICULATE VENATION IN THE LEAVES OF GNETUM IS AN ANGIOSPERMIC CHARACTER.
3. PRESENCE OF VESSELS IN XYLEM IS AGAIN AN ANGIOSPERMIC CHARACTER.
4. CLEAR TUNICA AND CORPUS CONFIGURATION OF SHOOT APICES IS A CHARACTER OF
BOTH GNETUM AND ANGIOSPERMS.
5. STROBILI OF GNETUM RESEMBLE MUCH MORE WITH ANGIOSPERMS THAN ANY OF THE
GYMNOSPERMS
REFERENCE

• A textbook of botany by Singh Pande Jain

• Slideshare.com
• Sciencedirect.com
• Wikipedia
• Ramsadaycollege.com