CARBOHYDRATES 



Judging from the relatively small body of available 

 literature it seems that the potential contribution 

 of carbohydrates to biochemical systematics is 

 sKghtly regarded, although some early work on the 

 biochemistry of carbohydrates from the systematic 

 aspect exists. For example, Blackman (1921) dis- 

 cussed in rather general terms the use of carbo- 

 hydrates as phylogenetic criteria, citing specifically 

 the accumulation of pentosan mucilages in succulent 

 families such as the Cactaceae and Crassulaceae. 

 Blackman cited an older work by Meyer, who 

 arranged the flowering plants into five "classes" on 

 the basis of their propensity to form starch. Gen- 

 eralizations such as a tendency for most monocots 

 to fall into the low starch-producing classes or that 



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