character are hard to align into an evolutionary sequence. This is because the hypanthium may 
grow or just broaden as fruit develops, and then the height of the hypanthium with respect to the 
fruit can be reached by two different processes. Besides, as mentioned above, perigynous flowers 
seem to be the original condition in the Lauraceae, and the abscence of the hypanthium in the 
fruit may be also attained by two different ways: reduction or dehiscence (both recorded in the 
Lauraceae). In the Monimiaceae many taxa present a large hypanthium that splits out at maturity, 
but usually it is already large and concave in the flower. Hortonia has a non accrescent 
hypanthium in the fruit. Even so, variation is so broad in the Lauraceae that it is preferred to 
leave the morphological sequence of the hypanthium as is and unordered. 0, hypanthium absent; 1, 
hypanthium present, not accrescent; 2, hypanthium covering up to 2/3 of fruit; 3, fruit enclosed in the hypanthium. 
31. Vessel perforations. In this case, polarization and character state sequence is 
strengthened by the trend observed in the wide comparison compiled for the dicotyledons as a 
whole (Chalk, 1983a). Hortonia, however, has vessel elements only with scalariform 
perforations. The trend suggested here for the present character seems to be irreversible. 0, simple 
only; 1, simple and scalariform. 
32. Fibers in wood. Although no recognizable trend for this character is found for the 
angiosperms as a whole, polarization is based on the fact that Hortonia has wood fibers without 
septa (Money et al., 1950). Character states are unordered. 0, not septate; 1, septate. 
33. Axial parenchyma. Character polarization and state sequence is defined on the basis 
that Hortonia's axial parenchyma is of the diffuse-in-aggregates type (Money et al., 1950). This 
arrangement belongs to the simple apotracheal type, in contrast to the more complex paratracheal 
type found in the Lauraceae. The general comparison survey within the dicotyledons (Chalk, 
229 
