Plant Families Flashcards
1
Q
Asteraceae
A
Keys:
- “Composite” or “head” inflorescence
- Ray and/or disk flowers
- Inflorescence subtended by bracts
2
Q
Liliaceae – Lily Family
A
Keys:
- Monocots (so parallel leaf veins)
- Flowers regular (symmetrical)
- Usually 3 petals, 3 sepals, 6 stamens
- Usually underground bulbs
3
Q
Fabaceae – Pea Family
A
Keys:
- Most spp. have distinctive irregular flowers (banner, wings, keel)
- Seed-bearing pods that open along two seams to release seeds
- Many have pinnate or palmate leaves, but some raceme or trifoliate
4
Q
Lamiaceae – Mint Family
A
Keys:
- Square stalks and simple, opposite leaves
- Mostly aromatic (volatile oils)
- Flowers irregular – corolla (petals) tubular and 2-lipped, usually with 2 lobes on top and 3 (sometimes 2) below
- Sepals 5-toothed and often 2-lipped
5
Q
Rosaceae – Rose Family
A
Keys:
- Flowers regular (define), almost always with 5 petals and 5 sepals
- Subfamilies look different in morphology except for flowers
6
Q
Ericaceae – Heath Family
A
Keys:
- Leaves often evergreen and in bunches at end of twigs; often leathery, shiny
- Flowers mostly red or white bell-shaped
7
Q
Rhamnaceae – Buckthorn Family
A
Keys:
- Simple leaves mostly alternate or spiraling
- Leaves tend to be shiny on top, clearly (deeply) veined, and somewhat leathery and thick
- Flowers are small, whitish or greenish, usually in showy clusters
- Rhamnaceae and Ericaceae easiest to tell apart when flowers present:
- - Rhamnaceae: showy clusters
- - Ericaceae: bell-shaped
8
Q
Chenopodiaceae – Goosefoot Family
A
Keys:
- Often scurfy or rough appearance caused by presence of glands or short hairs;
- flowers very small usually in form of small globules located along stalk, often in leaf axils;
- flowers have sepals but rarely petals;
- variety of leaf shapes, but often “goosefoot” in shape
9
Q
Brassicaceae – Mustard Family
A
Keys:
- 4-petaled flowers always in form of “X” or “H”;
- seed pods always in radial pattern around stalk;
- pods may take different forms, which are diagnostic for species
- Leaves various in shape but always simple (vice compound) and come off stalk alternately;
- often mustardy smell when crushed
10
Q
Pinaceae
A
- Gymnosperms (“Naked seed”)
- Pollinated by wind (“aerodynamically matched” so each species captures its own seeds)
- Scales grow over and protect ovules
- North American genera: Abies (fir), Larix (larch, tamarack), Picea (spruce), Pinus (pine), Pseudotsuga (Douglas-fir), Tsuga (hemlock)
11
Q
Cupressaceae – Cypress/Cedar Family
A
- Small, scaly leaves;
- separate male/female cones; cones usually woody (Juniperus fleshy rather than woody scales)
- Young growth may have distinctly pointed, blue needles
12
Q
Salicaceae – Willow Family
A
- Leaves simple and alternate
- Unisexual flowers on different plants
- Emergence of catkins/aments is diagnostic for species
- Populus species are trees; most, not all, Salix species are shrubs
13
Q
Pinaceae family - Pinus genus
A
Pinus: 1-5 needles wrapped together at base by small membrane (“fascicles”)
14
Q
Pinaceae family - Larix genus
A
Larix: Bright green, deciduous needles arranged in membranous spiral at branch buds
15
Q
Pinaceae family - Abies genus
A
Abies: Soft, single needles
