Chromosomal observations on the Alzateaceae (Myrtales)

Alzatea verticillata Ruiz & Pav. subsp. amplifolia S. A. Graham of the monotypic neotropical family Alzateaceae has a haploid chromosome number of n = 14. This first report for the family is unique as a putative base number among the 14 core families of the Myrtales. Given that n = 12 appears to be;he basic number for the order, n = 14 could have arisen as an ascending dysploid or as a tetraploid derived from an ancestral base number of x = 7. A summary of probable basic chromosome numbers is given for all families currently recognized in the Myrtales except the Crypteroniaceae, which remains unknown cytologically.