ABSTRACT
Plant embryology deals with the sexual cycle of the plant. The use of embryological characters in taxonomy was first indicated by Hofmeister and Strasburger. Embryology provides many features that are complex and, when properly applied along with evidence from other sources, offers good indications of relationships at various taxonomic level, from the ordinal to the specific level. Embryological characters include basically all morphological characters concerned with the development of anther, ovule and seed. Embryological features thus support its status as an independent family Donatiaceae, close to the Stylidiaceae. Embryological characters suggest that Heteropyxis may be placed either under a subfamily of Myrtaceae or as a separate but related family. In Kyllinga, during early stages of embryogeny, the cells in the quadrant that form the embryo proper, instead of producing the octant stage, had divided periclinally to form the initials of dermatogen.
