Lecture 10 Asterids Flashcards
What are stem/leaf characteristics of Apocynum genus?
- Opposite or whorled simple leaves
- Milky (latex) sap with alkaloids, cardiac glycosides common in family
What are floral characteristics of Apocynum genus?
- Perfect, radial, 5-merous flowers
- Synsepalous and sympetalous
- 5 epipetalous stamens alternate with petals
- Anthers connivent in cone over style
- 2 carpels: distinct
- Superior ovaries united at the tip only by common style and stigma
What type of fruit does the Apocynum genus produce?
Paired follicles with many comose seeds
What two genera do we review in the Apocynaceae (milkweed) family?
Apocynum and Asclepias
What are stem/leaf characteristics of Asclepias genus?
- Opposite simple leaves
- Milky (latex) sap with alkaloids, cardiac glycosides common in family
What are floral characteristics of Asclepias genus?
- Gynoecium and androecium fused
- Hoods and horns with nectar
- 5 sepals and 5 petals; sympetalous and synpetalous
- 2 separate carpels attached to common gynostegium
What type of fruit does Asclepias produce?
2 follicles with many comose seeds
- all seeds fertilized by a single pollination event
- insect sticks its leg in the stigmatic slit and gathers the pollen
What is the structure of the pollen sacs in Asclepias genus?
Pollinia attach to pollinator leg
Must be pulled out of the modified anther
Translator arms dry, pollinia change orientation, than foot must slip into the stigmatic slit on another flower
Where is the Rubiaceae (coffee) family generally found?
Most are tropical (not a ton of species here)
What are features of Cephalanthus?
- Erect shrubs with opposite leaves
- Flowers in dense heads (the inflorescence type is head or capitulum)
- 4 small fused sepals, 4 petals (no free petals), 4 stamens
- Epipetalous stamens
- Perfect flowers
- Tubular sympetalous corollas
- Inferior ovaries
What type of fruit does Cephalanthus genus produce?
Fruit a schizocarp that splits into two nutlets
Where is Cephalanthus genus found?
Marshes, swamps, floodplains
What are the two genera we have seen in Rubiaceae family?
Cephalanthus and Galium
What are stem/leaf characteristics of Galium?
- Weak-stemmed herbs, trailing habit
- Whorled leaves
What are floral characteristics of Rubium
- 4-parted
- Corolla fused, rotate with short tube
- 4 epipetalous stamens
- perfect flowers
- Inferior ovary with 2 carpels
What type of fruit does Galium produce?
1-seeded indehiscent fruit, nutlet
What are stem/leaf characteristics of Araliaceae (ginseng) family?
- Herbaceous
- Alternate, compound or lobed leaves
What are floral characteristics of Araliaceae family?
- Umbellate inflorescence
- Radial symmetry
- 5 separate, very small sepals
- Separate petals
- 5 stamens
- Inferior ovaries, usually 5 carpels, sometimes as few as 2
- Style # = carpel #
What type of fruit does the Araliaceae family produce?
Capsule or drupe fruits
Where is the Araliaceae (ginseng) family found?
Understory herbs of deciduous forests
Important for ginseng
What happened to Panax quinquefolium (ginseng)?
Rhizome of plant used medicinally
Mainly been extirpated due to colonizers
Native to North America
Very sought after
What kind of plants make up the Apiaceae family?
Several vegetables (carrots, celery, parsnip)
Some herbs/spices (dill, fennel, cumin, etc.)
Some very poisonous (poison hemlock)
What are similarities between Araliaceae and Apiaceae?
- Alternate compound leaves
- 5-parted perianth
- Sepals tiny or obsolete
- 5 stamens
- Inferior ovaries
- Umbellate inflorescences
What are major differences between Araliaceae and Apiaceae?
Araliaceae:
- simple umbels, or groupings of umbels, but not into compound umbel
- 2-5 carpels
- Drupe or capsule fruits
Apiaceae:
- compound umbels
- 2 carpels
- Schizocarp
