Wisconsin Flora Tour Introduction to Course Numbers of Families, Genera
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Vascular Flora of Wisconsin 20 January 2009 Wisconsin Flora Tour Introduction to course Numbers of families, genera and species within major groupings in Wisconsin Group Families Genera Species Species Total Native Introduced Cryptogams 13 31 112 0 112 Gymnosperms 3 8 15 2 17 Angiosperms Dicotyledons 115 575 1161 573 1734 Monocots 27 171 601 106 707 TOTAL 158 785 1889 681 2570 Largest families (50 or more taxa) and genera (15 or more taxa) in the Wisconsin flora Family No. of Taxa Genus No. of Taxa Asteraceae 373 Carex (sedge) 168 Poaceae 254 Aster (aster) 80 Cyperaceae 251 Rubus (raspberry) 55 Rosaceae 187 Crateagus (hawthorn) 47 Fabaceae 88 Viola (violet) 33 Brassicaceae 87 Panicum (panic grass) 32 Scrophulariaceae 75 Potamogeton (pondweed) 32 Lamiaceae 72 Salix (willow) 31 Caryophyllaceae 63 Polygonum (smartweed) 30 Orchidaceae 57 Solidago (goldenrod) 30 Ranunculaceaee 53 Juncus (rush) 29 Helianthus (sunflower) 20 Ranunculus (buttercup) 20 Chenopodium (chenopod) 19 Eleocharis (spikerush) 19 Lonicera (honeysuckle) 18 Veronica (veronica) 18 Rosa (rose) 16 Galium (bedstraw) 15 Source: Wisconsin State Herbarium (http://www.botany.wisc.edu/herbarium/) Four major floristic elements in the Wisconsin flora Boreal Alleghenian Ozarkian Prairie Two floristic provinces Northern hardwood Prairie forests Tension Zone Brief look at four plant communities Beech maple or southern mesic Oak forest or southern xeric Prairie Bog or fen Vascular Flora of Wisconsin 22 January 2009 Nomenclature and Vascular Cryptogams I Nomenclature vs. Classification Rank Ending Example genus no standard Rosa family -aceae Rosaceae order -ales Rosales subclass -idae Rosidae class -opsida Magnoliopsida phylum (division) -phyta Magnoliophyta Species Binomial nomenclature Common name versus scientific genus, specific epithet, and authority General rules Latin: italic in print and underline in writing Generic name must always be capitalized Specific epithet may always be in lower case Specific epithet may never be used alone Rules of priority specific epithet has priority and is retained oldest validly published name is the “correct” name Two examples of name changes Carex buxbaumii Wahlenb. and Carex polygama Schkuhr Senecio aureus L. and Packera aurea (L.) Love and Love Synonyms Vascular Cryptogams Overview of alternation of generations sporophyte vs. gametophyte spores vs. gametes homosporous vs. heterosporous microphylls vs. megaphylls 2 phyla of Cryptogams (not considered a natural group) Lycopodiophyta : lycopods Polypodiophyta: ferns (including now Equisetophyta or the horsetails and Psilophyta or whisk ferns) Lycopodiophyta - lycopods Lycopodiaceae — clubmosses, groundpines, groundcedars Lycopodium obscurum, groundpine Huperzia lucidula, shining clubmoss [Lycopodium lucidulum] Diphasiastrum digitatum, crowfoot clubmoss, southern running-pine, southern ground-cedar [Lycopodium digitatum] Lycopodiella inundata, bog clubmoss [Lycopodium. inundatum] Sellaginellaceae — spikemosses Selaginella rupestris - rock spikemoss S. selaginoides - northern spikemoss Isoetaceae — quillworts Isoetes, quillwort Polypodiophyta – the unusual “ferns” Equisetaceae — horsetails Equisetum arvense, common horsetail, field horsetail E. hyemale, common scouring rush, pipes, scouring rush horsetail E. laevigatum - smooth horsetail or scouring rush E. scirpoides, dwarf scouring rush, sedge horsetail E. sylvaticum, wood horsetail, woodland horsetail Morphological terms helpful in identifying ferns and fern allies Botany 401, Spring 2009 FERNS: Phylum Polypodiophyta Ferns I. Vegetative morphology The leaf blade of a fern is called a frond. Fronds may be fertile or sterile, depending on whether they do or do not bear spores. Most of us recognize a fern based on the fertile frond, if the species produces dimorphic fronds, or by the vegetative morphology of the frond if the species produces fronds of only a single basic morphology. The frond in most of Wisconsin’s species is compound and made of the following vegetative parts: Stipe: The stalk that connects the frond to the rootstock or rhizome stalks may be glabrous, hairy, or scaly. Rachis: The axis to which all divisions of the frond connect. Pinna: A unit of the leaf that connects directly to the rachis; the pinnae (plural form of pinna) may be simple or compound. Pinnule: A unit of the pinna that connects to the midrib of the pinna. Lobe: The smallest unit of a pinna; lobe may be toothed or entire. Overall description of the frond form: Pinnate: Once-compound; the frond has pinnae that are not subdivided. Bipinnate: Twice-compound; pinnae are divided into unlobed pinnules. Tripinnate: Three-times compound; pinnules are lobed. Ferns II. Reproductive morphology Unlike seed plants, the reproductive structures of ferns and their allies are unprotected spores. Spores are borne within sporangia on the margins or lower surfaces of leaves. These sporangia are often found in visible clusters called sori (singular: sorus). You can often find sori on undersides of fertile fern fronds, and their characteristics are important for identification. Over the top of the sorus there is often an umbrella-like flap of tissue called the indusium (plural: indusia). The indusium may be attached at the edge, arching over the sorus, or it may be attached in the center. HORSETAILS: Phylum Polypodiophyta (previously placed in Equisetophyta) Horsetails have jointed, hollow stems that are rough to the touch. The leaves are small and scalelike, whorled at the nodes and often fused along the margin to form a sheath. The leaf tips are generally referred to as teeth, and they may fall from the plant quickly or persist for the duration of the growing season. Branches, when present, are narrow, needle-like structures that are often thought of as leaves. The branches have sheaths at each node, just like the main stem. Horsetail sporangia are borne in strobili, more commonly referred to as cones. CLUBMOSSES: Phylum Lycopodiophyta Unlike the ferns and horsetails, the leaves of clubmosses are microphylls (leaves with single veins, single leaf traces, not associated with a leaf gap). Sporangia are borne on sporophylls that are either unspecialized microphylls or specialized to form a strobilis. Vascular Flora of Wisconsin 27 January 2009 Vascular Cryptogams II and Gymnosperms Polypodiophyta — true ferns General characteristics: homosporous or heterosporous, fronds, stipe, circinnate vernation, sorus, indusium Classification: problematic for families!; leptosporangiate or eusporangiate ferns; horsetails and whisk fern phyla now part of ferns! Ferns in Wisconsin [see http://www.uwgb.edu/biodiversity/herbarium/pteridophytes/ pteridophytes_of_wisconsin01.htm] 9 families, 24 genera, 68 species Ophioglossaceae (2 genera / 14 species) Botrychium virginianum - rattlesnake fern Botrychium lunaria - moonwort Ophioglossum pusillum – adder’s-tongue Osmundaceae (1 genus / 3 species) Osmunda cinnamomea - cinnamon fern Osmunda claytoniana - interrupted fern Osmunda regalis - American royal fern Pteridaceae (4 genera / 7 species) Adiantum pedatum - northern maidenhair fern Cryptogramma stelleri - slender cliff-brake fern Dennstaedtiaceae (2 genera / 2 species) Pteridium aquilinum - bracken fern Thelypteridaceae (2 genera / 4 species) Thelypteris palustris - marsh fern Aspleniaceae (1 genus / 5 species) Asplenium platyneuron - ebony spleenwort Asplenium viride - green spleenwort Dryopteridaceae (10 genera / 30 species) Athyrium angustum - northeastern lady fern Dryopteris intermedia - glandular wood fern Onoclea sensibilis - sensitive fern Polystichum acrostichoides - Christmas fern Polypodiaceae (1 genus / 1 species) Polypodium virginianum - common polypody, rock-cap fern Azollaceae (1 genus / 2 species) Azolla caroliniana - mosquito fern Pinophyta — Gymnosperms Classfication: Four major groups: cycads, ginkgo, conifers, gnetophytes — these sometimes each considered its own phylum General characteristics: no vessel elements, needle or scale-like leaves, cones or strobili, no flowers (therefore “naked seeds”), pollination Gymnosperms in Wisconsin: 3 families, 8 genera, 13 species Cupressaceae (2 genera / 4 species) Juniperus communis - common juniper, oldfield juniper Juniperus horizontalis - creeping juniper Juniperus virginiana - eastern red-cedar Thuja occidentalis - eastern arborvitae, northern white cedar Taxaceae (1 genus / 1 species) Taxus canadensis - American yew, ground hemlock Taxus cuspidata – Japanese yew [not native, but planted] Pinaceae (5 genera / 8 species) Abies balsamea - balsam fir Larix laricina - tamarack, American larch Picea glauca - white spruce Picea mariana - black spruce Pinus banksiana - jack pine Pinus resinosa - red pine, Norway pine Pinus strobus - eastern white pine Tsuga canadensis - eastern hemlock Ginkgoaceae [not native, but planted] Ginkgo biloba (ginkgo) Vascular Flora of Wisconsin 29 January 2009 Floral and Fruit Structure — Angiosperms Floral structure of Angiosperms Flowers as modified shoots with 4 sets of modified “leaves” Floral parts (terms & illustrations) Peduncle, pedicel Receptacle Sepals / calyx Petals / corolla Stamens (androecium): anthers, filaments Nectaries Carpels (gynoecium): ovary & ovules, style, stigma Placentation: marginal, axile, parietal, free-central, basal Arrangement of floral parts Numerical plan: spiral, 3-merous, 4-merous, 5-merous Symmetry actinomorphic / radial zygomorphic / bilateral Fusion of floral parts connation - fusion of similar parts adnation - fusion of different parts hypogynous ovary - superior ovary