The Families of Flowering Plants
The Families of Flowering Plants | |
Including Alsinaceae, Circumaceae Dulac, Corrigiolaceae Dum., Dianthaceae von Vest, Gracilicaulaceae Dulac, Illecebraceae R. Br., Onychiaceae Dulac, Paronychieae (Paronychiaceae) A. St.-Hil., Scleranthaceae Bartl., Sileneae (Silenaceae) Bartl., Stellariaceae Dum.
Habit and leaf form. Small trees (a few), or shrubs (a few), or herbs (mainly). ‘Normal’ plants. Plants non-succulent (usually), or succulent. Annual, or biennial. Helophytic to xerophytic. Leaves opposite (usually), or whorled (rarely), or alternate (rarely spiral); petiolate, or subsessile, or sessile, or perfoliate; connate, or not connate; simple; epulvinate. Lamina entire (entire). Leaves stipulate (often), or exstipulate. Stipules not ochreate.
Leaf anatomy. Minor leaf veins without phloem transfer cells (10 genera).
Stem anatomy. Cork cambium present, or absent; initially deep-seated. Nodes unilacunar. Internal phloem absent. Secondary thickening developing from a conventional cambial ring, or anomalous; sometimes via concentric cambia (e.g. Spergularia, and sometimes (e.g. Acanthophyllum) producing a second series of bundles internally), or from a single cambial ring. ‘Included’ phloem present, or absent. Xylem with fibre tracheids, or without fibre tracheids; with libriform fibres, or without libriform fibres; with vessels. Vessel end-walls simple. Sieve-tube plastids P-type; type III (b).
Reproductive type, pollination. Plants hermaphrodite, or andromonoecious, or dioecious, or gynodioecious. Pollination entomophilous.
Inflorescence, floral, fruit and seed morphology. Flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’ (usually), or solitary; in cymes. The ultimate inflorescence unit cymose. Inflorescences usually terminal; typically dichasial cymes going over into cincinni. Flowers regular; generally more or less 5 merous; cyclic; tetracyclic, or pentacyclic. Floral receptacle developing a gynophore (often), or with neither androphore nor gynophore. Hypogynous disk present.
Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla, or sepaline (occasionally apetalous); (8–)10, or 5; 2 whorled (usually), or 1 whorled; isomerous. Calyx (4–)5; 1 whorled; polysepalous, or gamosepalous; regular; imbricate; with the median member posterior. Corolla when present, (4–)5; 1 whorled; appendiculate (often, with an appendiculate scale above each petal claw), or not appendiculate; polypetalous; regular. Petals clawed (often), or sessile; deeply bifid to bilobed (often), or fringed, or entire.
Androecium (1–)5, or 8, or 10. Androecial members free of the perianth, or adnate (sometimes adnate to the base of the corolla or the calyx); all equal, or markedly unequal; free of one another; 1 whorled, or 2 whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens (1–)5, or 8, or 10; reduced in number relative to the adjacent perianth (rarely), or isomerous with the perianth, or diplostemonous; oppositisepalous (usually), or alternisepalous (Colobanthus). Anthers dehiscing via longitudinal slits; introrse; tetrasporangiate. Endothecium developing fibrous thickenings. Microsporogenesis simultaneous. The initial microspore tetrads tetrahedral, or decussate. Anther wall initially with one middle layer; of the ‘dicot’ type, or of the ‘monocot’ type (?). Tapetum glandular. Pollen grains aperturate; 3–12 aperturate; colpate (and sometimes rupate), or porate, or foraminate, or rugate; spinulose; 3-celled (10 genera).
Gynoecium 2–5 carpelled. The pistil 1–5 celled. Gynoecium syncarpous; synovarious to eu-syncarpous; superior. Ovary unilocular; 1 locular (at least distally, but often more or less partitioned below or when immature). Styles 2–5; free to partially joined; apical. Stigmas 2–5; dry type; papillate; Group II type. Placentation basal, or free central (generally, but the placenta sometimes reaching the apex). Ovules in the single cavity (1–)100 (i.e. occasionally few, usually ‘many’); ascending; non-arillate; hemianatropous; bitegmic; crassinucellate. Outer integument not contributing to the micropyle. Embryo-sac development Polygonum-type. Polar nuclei fusing prior to fertilization. Antipodal cells formed, or not formed (then the three nuclei degenerating early); when formed, 3; not proliferating; ephemeral. Synergids pear-shaped, or hooked (e.g. Spergula). Endosperm formation nuclear. Embryogeny caryophyllad, or solanad.
Fruit non-fleshy; dehiscent, or indehiscent; a capsule (usually), or a nut (occasionally). Capsules usually denticidal, or valvular. Seeds endospermic, or non-endospermic. Endosperm not oily. Perisperm present. Seeds with starch. Cotyledons 2. Embryo achlorophyllous (14/18); curved (usually), or coiled, or straight (or almost so). The radicle dorsal (nearly always), or lateral (very rarely).
Seedling. Germination phanerocotylar.
Physiology, biochemistry. Not cyanogenic. Alkaloids present, or absent. Iridoids not detected. Proanthocyanidins nearly always absent (or a trace of cyanidin in Arenaria). Flavonols present, or absent; when present, kaempferol, or kaempferol and quercetin. Ellagic acid absent (14 species, 11 genera). Betalains absent. Saponins/sapogenins present (commonly), or absent. C3 and C4. C3 physiology recorded directly in Arenaria, Cerastium, Dianthus, Gymnocarpos, Lychnis, Polycarpon, Silene, Spergularia, Stellaria, Tunica. C4 physiology recorded directly in Polycarpaea. Anatomy non-C4 type (Acanthophyllum, Arenaria, Cerastium, Dianthus, Drymaria, Gymnocarpos, Lychnis, Polycarpon, Pollichia, Sagina, Silene, Spergula, Spegularia, Stellaria, Uebelina), or C4 type (Polycarpaea).
Geography, cytology. Frigid zone to tropical. Cosmopolitan. X = 5–19.
Taxonomy. Subclass Dicotyledonae; Crassinucelli. Dahlgren’s Superorder Caryophylliflorae; Caryophyllales. Cronquist’s Subclass Caryophyllidae; Caryophyllales. APG 3 core angiosperms; core eudicot; Superorder Caryophyllanae; Order Caryophyllales.
Species 1750. Genera 88; Acanthophyllum, Achyronychia, Agrostemma, Allochrusa, Alsinidendron, Ankyropetalum, Arenaria, Bolanthus, Bolbosaponaria, Brachystemma, Bufonia, Cardionema, Cerastium, Cerdia, Colobanthus, Cometes, Cucubalus, Cyathophylla, Dianthus, Diaphanoptera, Dicheranthus, Drymaria, Drypis, Geocarpon, Gymnocarpos, Gypsophilla, Habrosia, Haya, Herniaria, Holosteum, Honckenya, Illecebrum, Kabulia, Krauseola, Kuhitangia, Lepyrodiclis, Lochia, Loeflingia, Lychnis, Mesostemma, Microphyes, Minuartia, Moehringia, Moenchia, Myosoton, Ochotonophila, Ortegia, Paronychia, Pentastemonodiscus, Petrocoptis, Petrorhagia, Philippiella, Phrynella, Pinosia, Pirinia, Pleioneura, Plettkia, Pollichia, Polycarpaea, Polycarpon, Polytepalum, Pseudostellaria, Pteranthus, Pycnophyllopsis, Pycnophyllum, Reicheella, Sagina, Sanctambrosia, Saponaria, Schiedea, Scleranthopsis, Scleranthus, Sclerocephalus, Scopulophila, Selleola, Silene, Spergula, Spergularia, Sphaerocoma, Stellaria, Stipulicida, Thurya, Thylacospermum, Uebelinia, Vaccaria, Velezia, Wilhelmsia, Xerotia.
Economic uses, etc. Numerous ornamentals, e.g. 70 or more species of Dianthus (including carnation), Gypsophila, Silene, Lychnis, and some widespread weeds (Cerastium, Arenaria).
Illustrations. • Technical details: Agrostemma, Cucubalus, Drypis, Melandrium (= Silene), Viscaria. • Technical details: Gypsophila, Saponaria, Stellaria. • Technical details: Bufonia, Dianthus, Cerastium, Colobanthus, Holosteum, Spergularia, Stellaria. • Technical details: Polycarpaea (Thonner). • Technical details: Scleranthus, Anychia (= Paronychia). • Technical details (Illecebrum, Dicheranthus). • British Silenoideae (Agrostemma, Silene: B. Ent. compilation). • British Silenoideae (Silene: B. Ent.). • British Silenoideae (Dianthus), Alsinoideae (Scleranthus): B. Ent. compilation. • British Alsinoideae (Myosoton, Cerastium: B. Ent, compilation). • British Alsinoideae (Stellaria, Moehringia: B. Ent. compilation). • British Alsinoideae (Sagina, Honkenya, Moenchia, Arenaria, Spergularia: B. Ent. compilation). • Silene coeli-rosa: as Viscaria oculata, Bot. Reg. 29, 53 (1843). • Lychnis coronata: as L. bungeana, Bot. Reg. 1864 (1836). • ‘Franklin's Tartar’ (freak cultivated Carnation: Bot. Mag. 2, 1788).
Quotations
Quaff’d off the
muscadel,
And threw the sops all in the sexton’s face
(‘Taming
of the Shrew’, iii., 2 - ‘sops’ (‘sops-in-wine’) =
carnations, used for flavouring the sweet wine presented to brides after
medieval wedding ceremonies)
Ragged-robbins once so pink
Now are turned
as black as ink,
And their leaves being scorch’d so much
Even
crumble to the touch
(John Clare 1820, ‘Noon’)
This description is offered for casual browsing only. We strongly advise against extracting comparative information from it. This is much more easily achieved using the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting specified attributes, summaries of attributes within groups of taxa, geographical distribution, genera included in each family, classifications (Dahlgren; Dahlgren, Clifford, and Yeo; Cronquist; APG), and notes on the APG classification.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 1992 onwards. The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval. Version: 25th November 2009. http://delta-intkey.com’.
