California Plant Families

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Mary Carroll

Vascular Plant Cladogram

Flowering Plants

Monosulcate pollen (1 groove)) Tricolpate pollen (3 furrows, different orientation than monosulcate) Platanaceae (flowers from Wikipedia)

Flowers small, inconspicuous, hypogenous, regular, unisexual, receptacle short, smooth, hypogynous disk absent, perianth reduced, sepals number three to four, rarely eight, free or basally fused, shorter than the petals, triangular. Petals number three to four, rarely eight, truncated-spatulate or vestigial, scarious, frequently absent in the female flowers, male flowers with androecium haplostemonous, isostemonous, oppositisepal, with three to four, rarely eight, stamens, gynostemium short or vestigial, anthers basifixed, not versatile, dithecous, tetrasporangiate, elongated, connectivum apically widened, peltate, dehiscence along longitudinal valves; pistillidium sometimes present, female flowers with superior gynoecium carpels apocarpous in two or three whorls, imperfectly closed apically, surrounded by petals, linear stylodious, stigmas internal, decurrent in two ridges, more or less dry, two ovules per carpel but one nearly always aborts, orthotropous, bitegmic, crassinucellated, pendulous, apical to marginal placentation, three or four staminodes 3-4, no nectaries

Ranunculaceae

herbaceous, rarely woody (and then a vine)

Ranunculaceae free perianth parts, radial symmetry in most

Ranunculaceae

free perianth parts, radial symmetry in most

Ranunculaceae

free perianth parts, bilateral symmetry in very few Ranunculaceae sepals somemes absent

Ranunculaceae numerous free stamens

Pisls = gynoecium –> 3 opons (unicarpellate, apocarpous, syncarpous)

Ranunculaceae

apocarpous

Tricolpate pollen (3 furrows, different orientation than monosulcate) Platanaceae (flowers from Wikipedia)

Flowers small, inconspicuous, hypogenous, regular, unisexual, receptacle short, smooth, hypogynous disk absent, perianth reduced, sepals number three to four, rarely eight, free or basally fused, shorter than the petals, triangular. Petals number three to four, rarely eight, truncated-spatulate or vestigial, scarious, frequently absent in the female flowers, male flowers with androecium haplostemonous, isostemonous, oppositisepal, with three to four, rarely eight, stamens, gynostemium short or vestigial, anthers basifixed, not versatile, dithecous, tetrasporangiate, elongated, connectivum apically widened, peltate, dehiscence along longitudinal valves; pistillidium sometimes present, female flowers with superior gynoecium carpels, apocarpous in two or three whorls, imperfectly closed apically, surrounded by petals, linear stylodious, stigmas internal, decurrent in two ridges, more or less dry, two ovules per carpel but one nearly always aborts, orthotropous, bitegmic, crassinucellated, pendulous, apical to marginal placentation, three or four staminodes 3-4, no nectaries

Poppy Family Papaveraceae

usually herbaceous, rarely woody

Papaveraceae

Papaveraceae usually half the # sepals as petals (4 or 6 petals, 2 or 3 sepals)

Papaveraceae 4 petals

Papaveraceae or 6 petals and numerous stamens

Papaveraceae syncarpous, ovary superior, fruit a capsule

Saxifragaceae herbaceous, with palmate leaves, oen basal

Saxifragaceae inflorescence with reduced leaves

Saxifragaceae receptacle a hypanthium Saxifragaceae gen. 5 sepals, 5 petals, 5-10 stamens Saxifragaceae gen 2-3 carpels fused at base, ovary superior to parally inferior

Grossulariaceae

Always woody

Alternate palmate leaves Currants without nodal spines

Gooseberries (usually) with nodal spines Grossulariaceae

4 – 5 sepals

4-5 petals (same number as sepals) 4-5 stamens (same number as sepals) Grossulariaceae

4 – 5 sepals 4-5 petals (same number as sepals) 4-5 stamens (same number as sepals) Grossulariaceae

Hypanthium – cup to tube shaped Grossulariaceae Hypanthium – cup to tube-shaped Grossulariaceae Ovary inferior (pedicels often pendent)

The Rose Family - Rosaceae

Herbaceous to woody

Hypanthium (expanded receptacle)

5 sepals, 5 petals – separate (free), radial symmetry

Numerous stamens usually

Ovary superior (unicarpellate, apocarpous) or inferior (syncarpous Rosaceae

Numerous stamens Rosaceae Hypanthium

Rosaceae Unicarpellate = ovary superior, one ovary, one style, one sgma, one chamber

Rosaceae Apocarpous = ovaries superior, more than one separate carpel per flower

Rosaceae Syncarpous = more than one fused carpel per flower, in this family, ovary always inferior