A brief account on the morphology and ecology of the monotypic genus Moltkiopsis . (Boraginaceae) is given. An overview of the genus with notes on heterostyly, communities, soil, regeneration, vernacular names, etc. is presented. | Research Article Turk J Bot 34 (2010) 367-377 © TÜBİTAK doi: An account on the floral dimorphism and ecology of the genus Moltkiopsis . (Boraginaceae) in Saudi Arabia Turki Ali. AL-TURKI1, Jacob THOMAS2,* 1Herbarium (MUZ), Natural Resources and Environmental Research Institute, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, PO Box 6086, Riyadh 11442, SAUDI ARABIA 2Herbarium (KSU), Dept. of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, . Box 2455, Riyadh-11451, SAUDI ARABIA Received: Accepted: Abstract: A brief account on the morphology and ecology of the monotypic genus Moltkiopsis . (Boraginaceae) is given. An overview of the genus with notes on heterostyly, communities, soil, regeneration, vernacular names, etc. is presented. Variations present in some of the populations of Moltkiopsis ciliata (Forssk.) ., particularly in the floral parts, are also explained in detail. Key words: Moltkiopsis ciliata, Boraginaceae, Saudi Arabia, floral dimorphism, ecology Introduction The Boraginacean genus Lithospermum L. was originally established by Tournefort and later adopted and maintained by Linnaeus (1753). The generic circumscription as outlined by Tournefort and Linneaus was followed by Vahl (1790), Poiret (1811), De Candolle (1846), Boissier (1879), Ascherson and Schweinfurth (1887), Johnston (1953), and Riedl (1967). Johnston (1953) segregated 3 species from Lithospermum as 3 monotypic genera. He regarded these as being remotely related to the rest of the species of Lithospermum. The morphological separation between these genera may be either the outcome of a long period of disjunction or the result of fast morphological evolution triggered by the split of a common ancestor. These 3 genera, Moltkiopsis ., Mairetis ., and Neatostema ., differ from Lithospermum by their nutlets having a relatively thin pericarp, obliquely basal .
