Lecture 6: Superrosids

Question 1

Are Fabaceae plants economically important

Answer 1

Yes: 2nd most important economically after Poaceae since it includes the bean family, hay, cover crops, peanut, soya bean, clover, etc.

Question 2

What are the three largest plant families?

Answer 2

Orchidaceae
Asteraceae
Fabaceae

Question 3

Fabaceae and N-fixing

Answer 3

Fabaceae have symbiotic associations with Rhizobium bacteria to fix nitrogen
- high in protein, good cover crops, presence or absence can impact ecosystems, community composition of plants

Question 4

What is domestication syndrome? What are some examples?

Answer 4

Traits in common across many domestic plant

Example:
- uniform seed germination
- annual growth pattern
- decrease in bitterness, other toxic compounds
- larger edible part
- harder stems, firmly held grain

Question 5

What are the 3 subfamilies of Fabaceae?

Answer 5

Caesalpinioideae
Mimosoideae
Faboideae

Question 6

What are the stem/leaf characteristics of Fabaceae/Faboideae (subfamily of Fabaceae)?

Answer 6

Trees, shrubs, herbs, or vines with alternate, often pinnately compound leaves or trifoliate leaves

Question 7

What are the floral characteristics of Fabaceae/Faboideae (subfamily of Fabaceae)?

Answer 7

Flowers perfect, papilionate: with 1 standard (banner) petal, 2 wing petals and a keel of 2 fused petals

Often with fused sepals

Stamens diadelphous (in two parts), forming tube around the ovary.
- Usually 9 fused and 1 free stamen

One simple pistil (i.e. made up of 1 carpel) with 1 or more seeds on marginal placenta

Superior ovary

Flowers often in racemes

Question 8

What type of fruit does Fabaceae/Faboideae produce?

Answer 8

Legume fruits

Question 9

Floral parts in Faboideae

Answer 9

• 1 Banner or standard petal
• Keel (2 fused petals)
• Wing (2 fused petals)
• Free stamen and fused stamens
• Pistil
• Calyx

Question 10

What are common features of Rosaceae family?

Answer 10

Woody or herbaceous plants

Alternate leaves with stipules
- many have compound leaves

Perfect, radially symmetrical flowers

Hypanthium, either adnate or free from gynoecium
- nectaries at the top of hypanthium

Numerous stamens

Various fruit types (such as achene, drupelet, follicles, drupe, pome, etc.)

Question 11

What is the pericarp?

Answer 11

All of the layers of the ovary tissue

Question 12

Rhamnaaceae

Answer 12

Buckthorn family
Invasive species group
Not very commercially important

Rhamnus cathartica and Frangula alnus (both invasive)

Question 13

What are some of Ulmus (genus of the Ulmaceae family) stem/leaf characteristics?

Answer 13

Trees with alternate leaves
Leaves with oblique bases
- double serrate, with a scratchy surface texture
- sometimes have uneven base to their leaf (or always?)

Question 14

What are some of Ulmus (genus of the Ulmaceae family) floral characteristics?

Answer 14

Small perfect flowers in clusters

5-9 sepals, 5-9 stamens opposite them

Ovary of 2 fused carpels with a single ovule

Superior ovary

Question 15

What kind of fruit does Ulmus genus produce?

Answer 15

Samara fruits

Question 16

Is the Cannabaceae group commercially important?

Answer 16

Yes: cannabis, hops

Question 17

What are the stem/leaf characteristics in Urticaceae (stinging nettle) family?

Answer 17

Herbaceous plants
Opposite toothed leaves

Question 18

What are the floral characteristics in Urticaceae family?

Answer 18

Inflorescences of tiny, unisexual flowers
Often with stinging hairs containing formic acid
Monoecious or dioecious

Question 19

Where are Urticaceae plants found?

Answer 19

Many species common in floodplains

Question 20

Are Urticaceae plants commercially important

Answer 20

No, but is the stinging nettle family (has medicinal properties)

Question 21

What are characteristics of the Cucurbitaceae (cucumber) family?

Answer 21

• Vines with alternate leaves and tendrils
• Monoecious
• Leaves palmately lobed
• Flowers unisexual
• Radial symmetry: 5 fused sepals, 5 fused petals, 5 stamens OR 3 fused carpels
• Inferior ovary

Question 22

What type of fruit do we find in the Cucurbitaceae family?

Answer 22

Fruit a pepo or capsule

Question 23

What order is the Cucurbitaceae family found in?

Answer 23

Cucurbitales

Question 24

What are three families we have seen in the Rosales order?

Answer 24

Rosaceae
Urticaceae
Ulmaceae

Question 25

What are three families we are studying in the Fagales order (catkin-breaking trees and shrubs)?

Answer 25

Fagaceae (fagus, quercus, castanea)
Juglandaceae (carya, juglans)
Betulaceae (alnus, betula, carpinus, corylus, ostrya)

Question 26

What is a catkin?

Answer 26

Highly reduced inflorescences, usually bearing unisexual flowers with very reduced perianths

Each unit is a reduced branch with bracts that often fuse to or subtend the tiny perianth parts

Due to the extreme reduction, the units of the catkin are often difficult to interpret as individual flowers

Always wind-pollinated groups that have catkins since they are designed for wind pollination

Question 27

What are stem/leaf characteristics of the Fagaceae (oak) family?

Answer 27

Monoecious trees or shrubs
Leaves alternate, pinnately veined, may be pinnately lobed

Question 28

What are the floral characteristics of the Fagaceae (oak) family?

Answer 28

Unisexual flowers with reduced perianth
Staminate flowers in catkings
Carpellate flowers in small clusters

Question 29

What type of fruit in the Fagaceae family?

Answer 29

Fruit a nut, surrounded (at least partially) by an involucral husk that opens at maturity, called a cupule (this is the cap of acorns, for example)

Question 30

What is a nut?

Answer 30

A dry, single seeded fruit with a hard outer shell, not splitting open at maturity

Often bracts become a dry or fleshy outer layer surrounding the fruit

Question 31

What is the distinction between a nut and an achene?

Answer 31

The distinction is based on how large the fruit is and how hard the outer layers are
- small fruits with very hard outer layer might be called an achene or nutlet

Question 32

What is a cupule?

Answer 32

A cup-like structure made of coalescent bracts at the base of some fruits

Question 33

What are some traits of Fagus grandifolia?

Answer 33

• Monoecious tree
• Unisexual flowers in unisexual clusters
• Alternate simple leaves
• Inferior ovary
• Pair of flowers with involucre (one or more whorls of bracts surrounding flowers)
• Tiny sepals
• 3 stigmas

Question 34

What are the tree/leaf characteristics of Junglandaceae (walnut) family?

Answer 34

Monoecious trees
Leaves alternate, pinnately compound

Question 35

What are the floral characteristics of Junglandaceae (walnut) family?

Answer 35

Flowers unisexual, with reduced perianth
Staminate flowers in catkins
Carpellate flowers in clusters or racemes

Question 36

What type of fruit in Juglandaceae family?

Answer 36

Fruit a nut with a husk surrounding it

Or drupes?

Question 37

What are the tree/leaf characteristics of Betulaceae (birch) family?

Answer 37

Monoecious trees or shrubs
Leaves alternate, simple, usually double-serrate

Question 38

What are the floral characteristics of Betulaceae (birch) family?

Answer 38

Flowers unisexual, grouped into staminate and carpellate catkins
- carpellate catkin: each unit is derived from a branch with 3 carpellate flowers; green structures are fused bracts; pink structures are the stigmas, two per ovary

• staminate catkin: each unit is derived from a branch with three staminate flowers