World Wide Flowering Plant Family Identification

http://www.colby.edu/info.tech/BI211/PlantFamilyID.html

•  180 characters with two or more alternate states •  The more information you collect, the fewer options you need explore… •  Usefulness of synoptic descriptions •  Plenty of information about families on the web!

Select the characters (states) that are present in the specimen being identified. Press Submit when ready to determine possible families. Pressing "Back" at the top of the window brings you back to this page keeping your character selections. LIST OF CHARACTERS Plant Habit 1. Woody plants (excl. suffrutices) 2. Herbaceous plants (incl. suffrutices) 3. Aquatic plants, leaves floating or submerged 4. Climbers, lianas 5. Chlorophyll absent (parasites or saprophytes) 6. Bulb present (monocots only) 7. Milky juice present 8. Spiny stems or leaves 9. Tendrils present 10. Cladodes or phyllodes (modified branches or petioles) Vestiture 11. Hairs glandular 12. Hairs stellate (also 2-armed, branched and tufted) 13. Hairs stellate (not 2-armed, branched an….

Angiosperms: - Pollination was key to diversification

Floral Formula: Collective flower parts: Perianth:

•  calyx sepal

•  corolla •  petal

Androecium: •  stamen anther filament

Floral Formula: Collective flower parts:

Gynoecium: •  pistil(s) ovary(ies) carpel style stigma

syncarpous

apocarpous

Floral Formula:

Ca Co A G # # # #

Hypogynous flower ! 3

connation

Ca

Co

A

G

# #

#

Epigynous flower

5

A 5

Co #

adnation

Anemone japonica

Floral Formula: Floral Formula:

Ca Co

A G

� �

� � P �

Floral Diagram

Ranunculaceae:

60 genera 1700 species

Gladiolus spp. (~240)

Iridaceae: 80 genera 1500 species

Monocots vs Dicots:

Angiosperms: - Relationships of angiosperms: Monocots vs Dicots

Amborella trichopoda

Dioecious male: P5-8, A∞ female: P5-8,G5-6 superior

Amborellaceae

monotypic

Basal Angiosperms: Magnoliaceae

Synoecious P∞, A∞, G∞ [2-∞] superior

7 genera 219 species

Basal Angiosperms: Magnoliaceae

Aristolochiaceae

Basal Angiosperms:

Synoecious Ca(3),Co0[3],A6-∞ usu. adnate to style, G(4-6) inferior (half-inferior)

Basal Angiosperms: Nymphaeaceae

Synoecious Ca4-6 [-14], Co8-∞ [0], A∞, G(3-∞) superior or inferior Aquatic rhyzomatous herbs

3-6 genera

Araceae Basal Angiosperms:

100 genera 3700 species

spathe & spadix

Looking, describing, naming is …

seeing! Families to know:

Ranunculaceae (Ranunculales – Eudicots) Iridaceae (Asparagales - Monocots) Amborellaceae (Amborellales) Magnoliaceace (Magnoliales – Magnoliids) Araceae (Alismatales - Monocots) Aristolochiaceae (Piperales - Magnoliids) Nymphaeaceae (Nymphaeales)

Magnoliids