Family Descriptions Flashcards
Trees or shrubs., aromatic oil glands; leaves evergreen, usually alternate; flowers actinomorphic, usually perfect; perianth of 6 tepals; stamens 12 in 4 whorls of 3, anthers with valvate dehiscence; carpel 1, ovary superior, ovule 1 per carpel; fruit a berry or drupe.
LAURACEAE
Laurel Family
Trees or shrubs; leaves alternate, deciduous or persistent, stipules deciduous and leaving a stipular ring at each node; flowers solitary, actinomorphic; perianth of 6-many tepals; stamens numerous, laminar; carpels numerous (apocarpous), ovaries superior; fruit an aggregate of follicles, samaras, or berries; seeds often covered with red flesh (sarcotesta), each suspended by a threadlike funiculus.
**MAGNOLIACEAE **
Magnolia Family
Shrubs, herbs, or vines, often of wet habitats; leaves alternate (spiral or distichous) or basal, simple to pinnately or palmately compound; inflorescence a spadix enveloped or subtended by a single spathe; flowers actinomorphoc, perfect or imperfect (monescious); perianth absent (in imperfect flowers) or of 4-6 tepals (in perfect flowers); stamens usually 4,6, or 8; carpels 3 (syncarpous), ovary usually superior; fruit usually a multiple of berries.
**ARACEAE **
Arum Family
Perennial (some annual) aquatic or wetlant herbs with milky sap; leaves basal; flowers actinomorphic, perfect or imperfect (plants monecious, dioecious or polygamous); calyx of 3 sepals; corolla of 3 petals; stamens 6-many; carpels 6-many (apocarpous), ovaries a _fruit an aggregate of achenes or follicles. _
**ALISMATACEAE **
Water- Plaintain Family
Perennial herbs or shrubs; leaves alternate (distichous), unifacial; flowers small to large, generally showy, actinomorphic or zygomorphic; calyx of 3 petaloid sepals; corolla of 3 petals; stamens 3; carpels 3 (syncarpous), ovary inferior, ovules 1-many per carpel; _fruit a loculicidal capsule. _
**IRIDACEAE **
Iris Family
Perennial or annual herbs; leaves alternate (spiral or distichous) or whorled, often somewhat leathery; flowers zygomorphic; calyx of 3 sepals; corolla of 3 petals, median petal (labellum) larger than 2 lateral petals; stamens 1-2, fused to style and stigma (forming a column), pollen grouped in pollinia; carpels 3 (syncarpous), ovary inferior, ovules many per carpel; fruit a capsule, dehiscent by 3-6 slits.
**ORCHIDACEAE **
Orchid Family
Perennial herbs; leaves basal or cauline, alternate (spiral) or whorled), often sheathing at base; flowers actinomorphic to somewhat zygomorphic; perianth of 6 tepals in 2 whorls; stamens 6; carpels 3 (syncarpous), ovary superior, ovules many; fruit usually a loculicidal capsule, sometimes a berry.
**LILIACEAE **
Lily Family
Perennial herbs, succulent stems often with swollen nodes; leaves alternate (spiral), with closed basal sheath; flowers actinomorphic or zygomorphic; calyx of 3 sepals; corolla of 3 petals; stamens 6, or 3 with 3 staminodes, filaments often hairy; carpels 3 (syncarpous), ovary superior, ovules 1-many per carpel; fruit typically a loculicidal capsule.
**COMMELINACEAE **
Spiderwort Family
Aquatic perennial herbs with round, solid stems; leaves linear, mostly basal, alternate (distichous), sheathing; inflorescence a dense, cylindrical spike; flowers small, unisexual (monescious), actinomorphic; perianth of 0-3 bristle-like tepals in male flowers, many stamens 3; carpel 1; ovary superior, ovule 1 per carpel; _fruit achenelike. _
**TYPHACEAE **
Cattail Family
Tufted, perennial grass-like herbs, internodes solid; leaves alternate (spiral), mostly basal, usually tristichous, sheathing; flowers actinomorphic, usually perfect; perianth of 6 tepals; stamens usually 3-6; carpels 3 (syncarpous), ovary superior, ovules 1-many per carpel; fruit a loculicidal capsule.
**JUNCACEAE **
Rush Family
Perennial and annual herbs, stems often triangular, internodes solid; leaves alternate (spiral), usually tristichous, sheathing; flowers actinomorphic, perfect or imperfect (plants usually monecious); perianth absent or occasionally of bristles or scalelike tepals; stamens 3; carpels 2-3 (syncarpous), ovary superior, sometimes enclosed by a sac-like bract (perigynium), ovules 1 per carpel; fruit an achene.
**CYPERACEAE **
Sedge Family
Annual and perennial herbs, stems round, internodes usually hollow; leaves alternate, sheathing, ligule present; flowers somewhat zygomorphic, perfect or occasionally imperfect (plants usually monecious), subtended by 2 bracts (lemma and palea); perianth of 1-3; carpels 2-3, ovary superior, ovules 1 per ovary; fruit a caryopsis.
**POACEAE **
Grass Family
Perennial trees, shrubs or herbs, often spiny, leaves alternate and rarely opposite, simple or compound, flowers actinomorphic, perianth 6-7 seriate with 3 parts per whorl, the outer 2 whorls sepaloid, the inner 4-5 petaloid, innermost 2-3 nectiferous, stamens 6, anthers typically valvular,carpel 1, ovary superior, ovules many per ovary, fruit typically a berry
BERBERIDACEAE
Barberry Family
Annual or perennial herbs, shrubs, or small trees, leaves alternate to subopposite, usually lobed to divided or dissected, extipulate; flowers actinomorphoc, zygomorphic, or biradial; calyx of 2 or 3 caducous sepals; outer petals with a spur or a sac; stamens numerous, syncarous, ovary superior, fruit usually a capsule
**PAPAVERACEAE **
Poppy Family
Mostly herbs, sometimes shrubs or vines, leaves alternate, simple to compound, with sheathing leaf bases. Flowers usually actinomorphoc and perfect, calys 5-8 petaloid sepals; corolla few-many petals (rarely absent); stamens usually numerous; carpels usually numerous (apocarpous), ovaries superior, ovules usually many per carpel, fruit usually an _aggregate of follicles, achenes or berries _
**RANUNCULACEAE **
Buttercup Family
Trees, exfoliating bark, leaves alternate with infrapetiolar bud, usually palmately lobed, monoecious, fruit a multiple of densly hairy achenes in a globose head.
PLATANACEAE
Sycamore Family
Annual and perennial herbs, vines, shrubs, and rarely trees, leaves alternate or opposite; flowers actinomorphic, perfect or imperfect (monoecious, dioecious, or polygamous); perianth of typically 3-5 sepals, scarious, stamens usually 3-5, ovary superior, ovules typically 1 per carpel, _fruit a nutlet, berry, capsule, or rarely a circumscissle capsule. _
**AMARANTHACEAE **
Amaranth Family
Succulent shrubs, or trees, leaves alternate when present, leaf spines arisiing from special axillary meristems called areoles, some also possess small, trichome-like leaves called glochida; flowers actinomorphic; perianth of numerous tepals; stamens numerous, carpels 3-many, ovary inferior, ovules many per carpel; fruit a berry, often spiny or bristly.
CACTACEAE
Cactus Family
