stamens). Staminodes can alternate with the fertile stamens or they can all occur in the upper or lower hemisphere of the flower. The stalks of the stamens are bearded in many genera, although in some of these only some are bearded while others are hairless. Sometimes one to three stamens are absent altogether. Pollen is usually released from slits that open on the sides of the anthers from top to bottom, but some species have pores that open at the tips. Phylogeny The Commelinaceae is a well supported monophyletic group according to the analysis of Burns et al. (2011). The following is a phylogeny, or evolutionary tree, of most of the genera in Commelinaceae based on DNA sequences from the plastid gene rbcL All clades shown have 80% bootstrap support or better. See also List of foliage plant diseases (Commelinaceae) References External links links at CSDL Commelinid families