The flowering of Drimys brasiliensis (Winteraceae)

Because of a number of features (wood devoid of vessels, apocarpic gynoecium, etc), the genus Drimys (Winteraceae) has been considered some kind of "prototype" of the primitive angiosperms for a long time. In the light of our current knowledge this idea is to be abandoned: Winteraceae is part of Canellales wich, in turn, is part of the Magnoliids. If we follow the APG (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group) classification, Magnoliids aren't neither "basal" (a misleading term), nor "primitive" (a more confusing term, indeed). The Magnoliid features that are often interpreted as supporting the "primitiveness" of this group may actually be plesiomorphic, retained characters. This short video depicts the blooming in the widespread D. brasiliensis, a widespread treelet which dwells in the Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest Biome and in the wetter places of the Brazilian Cerrado. The flowers are strongly protogynic: just opened flowers can act aspollen receivers, but they can act as pollen donors a few days later. These phases are quite visible and recognizable. Notice that the perianth does also enlarge as the flower gets older. Music: a fragment of Beethoven's 9th Symphony.