ARECACEAE THE PALM FAMILY The Leaves are: • Parallel veined • Large • Compound • Alternate • Monocots Peach Palm (Bactris gasipaes) • Woody shrubs or trees comprising about 85 genera and 2,800 species • Leaves large, alternate, with a petiole, and palmately or pinnately compound, lacking stipules • Inflorescence is usually a panicle and is typically with one or more bracts or spathes • Flowers are actinomorphic, generally small, and are bisexual or more often unisexual. • Perianth usually consists of two whorls of 3 distinct or connate segments each, often distinguished primarily by size, the outer series or calyx being the smaller. • Androecium consists typically of 6 distinct stamens in two whorls of 3 each but sometimes comprises up to several hundred variously connate or adnate stamens. • Gynoecium is syncarpous or apocarpous. • Syncarpous forms consist of a single compound pistil of usually 3 carpels, 1 or 3 styles, and a superior ovary with 3 locules, each containing a single basal, axile, or apical ovule. • Apocarpous forms consist of usually 3 simple pistils, each with a superior ovary containing one locule with a single basal to apical ovule. • Fruit is usually a drupe. • Coconut (Cocos nucifera), Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera), Peach Palm (Bactris gasipaes) Coconut (Cocos nucifera) Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera) CYCLANTHACEAE The Leaves are: • Parallel veined • Coming to the midrib • Simple or compound • Alternate • Monocots • Shrubs, or herbs Sphaeradenia alleniana • Stem contains watery or milky juice • Leaves alternate; spiral (usually), or distichous; with a petiole; sheathing; simple, or compound; when compound palmate and “palm-like” • Inflorescences terminal, or axillary; pedunculate, unbranched, long-cylindrical to subspherical spadices, with rather few to very numerous flowers; • Flowers small, actinomorphic or zygomorphic, lacking a peduncle • Perianth of ‘tepals’; 4; free, or joined • Androecium consists of 10-20 stamens • Gynoecium has 4 carpels, syncarpous, ovary is partly inferior, or inferior and 1- locular. • Styles 1, or 4; free to partially joined. • Stigmas 4; laterally compressed, or flat • Placentation parietal or apical • Fruit fleshy; indehiscent; a berry A typical Cyclanthaceae inflorescence BROMELIACEAE THE PINEAPPLE FAMILY The Leaves are: • Parallel veined • Simple • Alternate • Spiny margins Most are epiphytes Ananas comosus – Pineapple • Monocots • Epiphytic herbs or sometimes terrestrial xerophytes comprising about 45 genera and 2,000 species • Have conspicuous floral bracts and scurfy, stalked, peltate scales on the leaves and other plant surfaces. • Leaves are alternate, parallel-veined, with a sheathing base and commonly with spiny margins, lacking stipules • Flowers are usually bisexual and actinomorphic but unisexual and weakly zygomorphic forms are known. • Perianth is in two dissimilar series, each with 3 distinct segments, forming a basal rosette • Calyx is usually green but not uncommonly petaloid and variously brightly colored. • Corolla is typically brightly colored and often the segments bear a pair of basal, sometimes nectariferous scales. • Androecium consists mostly of 6 stamens that are distinct or basally connate, and attach to the receptacle or are adnate to the base of the corolla • Gynoecium consists of a single compound pistil of 3 carpels, one style with 3 stigmas, and a superior to inferior ovary with 3 locules, each containing usually numerous axile ovules • Fruit is usually a berry or capsule • Pineapple (Ananas comosus), Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usneoides) Tillandsia usneoides – Spanish moss Aechmea fasciata – Urn plant COMMELINACEAE THE SPIDERWORT FAMILY The Leaves are: • Parallel veined • Simple • Alternate • Somewhat succulent • Monocots • Herbs, often somewhat succulent comprising about 50 genera and 700 species • Inflorescences are cymose and sometimes subtended by a boat-shaped spathe. • Leaves are alternate, simple, parallel-veined, and usually with a closed sheathing base. • Flowers are bisexual and actinomorphic or commonly slightly to strongly zygomorphic • Perianth is in two usually differentiated series • Calyx is usually of 3 distinct herbaceous sepals • Corolla is usually of 3 equal or sometimes unequal, distinct, deliquescent petals. • Androecium typically comprises 6 distinct stamens but commonly 3 or sometimes more are reduced to staminodes. • Gynoecium consists of a single simple pistil of 3 carpels, a single style and a superior ovary containing 3 or occasionally by abortion only 2 locules, each containing 1-few axile ovules. • Fruit is usually a loculicidal capsule or is sometimes indehiscent. COSTACEAE The Leaves are: • Parallel veined • Simple • Alternate Spiral growth habit • Monocots Note the spiral growth habit • Herbs • Leaves alternate; petiolate, or sessile; sheathing. Leaves without marked odor; simple; • Plants hermaphrodite. Floral nectaries present. Nectar secretion from the gynoecium (from septal nectaries, often two well developed and one reduced). Entomophilous, or cheiropterophilous. • Flowers solitary, or aggregated in ‘inflorescences’. The terminal inflorescence unit cymose. Inflorescences terminal, or axillary. zygomorphic o Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla; 6; free; 2 whorled o Calyx 3; 1 whorled o Corolla 3; 1 whorled • Androecium 1 or 6, free of the perianth; united with the gynoecium, free of one another o Stamens 1; petaloid. • Gynoecium 3 carpelled. o Pistil (1) 3 celled. Gynoecium syncarpous; eu-syncarpous; inferior. Ovary (1)3 locular. Epigynous disk often present. o Styles 1; apical. o Stigmas 1 • Fruit fleshy, or non-fleshy; dehiscent, or indehiscent; a capsule, or a nut, or capsular- indehiscent, or achene-like Costus barbatus ORCHIDACEAE THE ORCHID FAMILY The Leaves are: • Parallel veined • Simple • Alternate, sometimes opposite Fleshy white roots Most are epiphytic • Monocots • Terrestrial, epiphytic, or saprophytic herbs with pseudobulbs, comprising one of the two largest families of flowering plants with about 1,000 genera and 15-20,000 species • Leaves are alternate or seldom opposite or whorled and have a sheathing base and an entire, often fleshy, parallel-veined blade • Flowers are typically zygomorphic and bisexual but sometimes are virtually actinomorphic and rarely are unisexual • Perianth consists of 6 tepals in two similar or dissimilar whorls • Outer whorl of 3 distinct or variously connate tepals is sometimes sepaloid • Inner two whorl of 3 tepals are alike and may be quite similar to the outer tepals • Third tepal of the inner whorl forms a labellum that typically is highly modified in shape and or coloration. • Androecium and gynoecium are nearly always adnate into a column • Gynoecium consists of a single compound pistil of 3 carpels that together with the androecium comprises the column in most species. The stigma is just proximal to the single terminal stamen in most species. The stigma is two- or three-lobed and the ovary is inferior and almost always has 1 locule with very numerous, up to several million, very tiny parietal ovules. • Fruit is mostly capsular. • Vanilla (Vanilla planifolia) Note the pseudo bulb Vanilla ZINGIBERACEAE THE GINGER FAMILY The Leaves are: • Parallel veined • Simple • Alternate • Spicy smell when leaves crushed Curcuma cordata • Monocots • Perennial herbs mostly with rhizomous or tuberous roots about 47 genera and 1,000 species • Leaves are simple, entire, alternate and 2-ranked, with strongly ascending veins • Flowers are bisexual, strongly zygomorphic, and showy, subtended by a sheathing bract • Perianth is in two whorls, an herbaceous or membranous 3-lobed or spathaceous tubular calyx and a petaloid tubular corolla with 3 lobes. • Androecium typically consists of 1 fertile stamen, a large opposing petaloid labellum representing 2 connate staminodia, and two smaller flanking petaloid staminodia. • Gynoecium consists of a single compound pistil of 3 carpels, a single style nestled in a channel of the filament and anther of the fertile stamen and an inferior ovary with typically 3 locules, each containing numerous axile ovules. • Fruit is a loculicidal capsule or is berrylike and brightly colored. • Ginger (Zingiber officinale), Turmeric (Curcuma domestica), Ginger Flowers HELICONIACEAE The Leaves are: • Parallel veined • Simple • Alternate • Lack joints in the petiole • Monocots • Large, erect herbs (from 75–700 cm tall) • Perennial; with a basal aggregation of leaves, or with neither basal nor terminal aggregations of leaves; cormous. • Leaves simple, alternate; distichous; long petiolate; sheathing. • Plants with silica bodies (rectangular, in associaton with the vascular bundles). • Plants hermaphrodite. Floral nectaries present. Nectar secretion from the gynoecium • Flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’; in panicles. o The terminal inflorescence unit cymose (monochasial). o Flowers bracteate (the floral bracts smaller and thinner than the cincinnal bracts); very irregular; o Strongly zygomorphic o Perianth of ‘tepals’; 6; joined ;2 whorled; isomerous; petaloid • Androecium 6. o Androecial members free of the perianth; free of one another o Stamens 5; reduced in number relative to the adjacent perianth. • Gynoecium 3 carpelled. o Gynoecium syncarpous, inferior. o Ovary 3 locular. Gynoecium stylate. Heliconiaceae Flowers o Styles 1 o Stigmas 1, or 3 o Placentation basal to axile. o Ovules 1 per locule • Fruit fleshy; a schizocarp. MARANTACEAE The Leaves are: • Parallel veined • Simple • Alternate • Joint in the petiole • Distinctive tearing sound