Lilianae II

Orchidaceae -- the orchid family (835/20,000-30,000; mostly tropics but also in

temperate latitudes)

Plants flowering, synoecious; stems often modified into fleshy pseudobulbs; adventitious
roots (with a velamen in epiphytes)
Habit herbs, terrestrial often epiphytic succulence
Leaves alternate or all basal; simple, entire; leaf bases with distinctive closed sheath
surrounding stem; parallel venation
Inflorescences spikes, racemes, panicles or solitary, terminal or axillary
Flowers perfect; epigynous, highly zygomorphic, flower is turned upside down
(resupinate) as it develops so the labellum is on the bottom
Calyx 3 sepals distinct or connate; often petaloid
Corolla 3 petals distinct or connate, with the third petal (lip or labellum) usually elaborated
in some way
Androecium 1 or 2 stamens, adnate to stigma and style forming a column; anther(s) with
pollinia, pollinia covered by cap-like rostellum
Gynoecium inferior; 1 pistil of 3 connate carpels; 1 locule with many many extremely teeny
tiny ovules, parietal placentation; 1 massive style, adnate to androecium forming
column, stigmatic surfaces variously positioned
Fruit capsule with tiny, nonendospermous seeds
[Floral formula: Ca

Co

1-2

Lilianae II

Orchidaceae -- comments
Notable Genera: Many ornamentals such as Cattleya,
Dendrobium,and Epidendrum; including temperate species such as
Cypripedium and Paphiopedilum (lady-slipper orchids). Vanilla is
extracted from fermented capsules of Vanilla planifolia.
The androecium and parts of the gynoecium in this family have been
highly modified in such a way that many, many pollen grains are
delivered as a single package to the stigmatic surface; usually by a
pollinator. This means that if a flower is pollinated, then all the teeny,
tiny ovules that have formed in the ovary will be fertilized. You can
think of this as a sweepstakes pollination strategy (all or nothing!).
The aerial roots in many epiphytic orchids have a special layer on the
outside called velamen. This non-living layer (a multiple epidermis)
seals in moisture and acts as protective layer for the roots.

Commelinanae

Arecaceae (=Palmae) -- the palm family (200, 3000; Tropical and warm
temperate, a few cool temperate or montane species)

Plants flowering, synoecious, monoecious or dioecious

Habit shrubs, woody vines and trees; usually unbranched
Leaves alternate, often forming dense terminal rosettes; simple to compound, plicate
(folded like a fan) in bud; sheathing; estipulate; usually long-petiolate and very large
Inflorescences spikes, racemes, heads, cymes or large panicles; basally subtended one or
more spathes
Flowers actinmorphic; perfect, imperfect; hypogynous; sessile, small; hypanthium
sometimes present
Calyx 3 (2-4) sepals distinct or connate
Corolla 3 (2-4) petals distinct or connate; often sepaloid in appearance
Androecium 6 (3 or 7-many) stamens distinct or filaments connate; adnate to corolla or
hypanthium
Gynoecium superior; 3 (1-10) carpels, distinct or connate; 1-3 locules and 1 basal or apical
ovule/locule OR 1 locule and 1 basal or marginal ovule/locule; 1-3 styles, sometimes
basally connate or stigmas sessile
Fruit usually a one-seeded drupe or berry, sometimes coalescent into fleshy syncarp
[Floral formula: Ca

Co

3 or

Aracanae

Arecaceae (Palmae) -- comments

An extremely large and diverse monocot family with many important

agricultural and ornamental species including Cocos nucifera
(coconut), Elaeis guineensis (oil palm), Phoenix dactylifera (date
palm), Calamus spp. (rattan), Washingtonia (fan palms), and
Roystonea (royal palm).
Note that palm trees look woody, but they lack the taper of dicot tree
(they are the same thickness at the base as at the top). Wood in the
palm family is produced by a primary thickening meristem (adds
more primary growth near the apex), not by a vascular cambium as
you would find in a dicot with true secondary growth!

Commelinanae I

Bromeliaceae -- the bromeliad family (45-54/1,500-2,000; tropical to

subtropical, almost entirely New World)

Plants flowering, synoecious

Habit herbs (rarely shrubs or trees); usually acaulescent; often epiphytic, with some
members tank-epiphytes
Leaves alternate, often in dense basal rosette; simple, basally sheathing; somewhat
succulent; often with spiny margins; parallel venation with no midrib; covered with
distinctive peltate or shielded hygroscopic trichomes
Inflorescences spikes, racemes, or panicles
Flowers actinomorphic to zygomorphic, usually perfect, hypogynous to epigynous;
subtended by brightly colored petaloid bracts
Calyx 3 sepals distinct or connate; green or petaloid
Corolla 3 petals distinct or connate
Androecium 6 stamens distinct or filaments connate at base; free or adnate to petals
Gynoecium superior to inferior; 1 pistil of 3 connate carpels; 3 locules; many ovules/locule,
axile placentation; 1 style with 3 stigmas, often spirally twisted
Fruit capsule or berry, sometimes a multiple fruit (e.g. pineapple)
[Floral formula: Ca

Co

or

Commelinanae I

Bromeliaceae -- comments
Some Genera: Guzmania, Tillandsia, Ananus, Pitcairnia
Products: Ananus comosus (pineapple) is a multiple fruit that lacks
seeds because it is a sterile triploid. Tillandsia usneoides (spanishmoss) is dried and used as packing material or upholstery stuffing.
Various members are grown as ornamentals, and fiber for cordage is
harvested from leaves of many genera.

Commelinanae I

Zingiberaceae -- the ginger family (50/1000; pantropical)

Plants flowering,o synoecious, distinctive
petiolate, ligulate leaves with pinnate parallel
o
venation (1 vein pinnate, 2 veins parallel), aromatic with ethereal oil cells
Habit herbs with tuberous rhizomes
Leaves alternate, simple, entire, large with a prominent midrib; basal open sheaths overlap
to form a pseudostem
Inflorescences spikes or racemes with conspicuous spirally arranged primary bracts,
terminal
Flowers zygomorphic, perfect, epigynous, showy, subtended by bracts
Calyx 3 equal or unequal sepals, connate (synsepalous)
Corolla 3 unequal petals, connate (sympetalous) with median petal larger than lateral petals
Androecium 1 fertile stamen, the rest reduced to 4 or 2 petaloid staminodes; fertile stamen
wrapped around the style; basally adnate to corolla
Gynoecium inferior; 1 pistil of 3 connate carpels; 1-3 locules; numerous ovules, various
placentation; 1 weak style enveloped by grooved filament and the two pollen sacs with
stigma protruding beyond the anther
Fruit berry, usually a fleshy capsule
[Floral formula: Ca

Co

A 1 + 5 or 2 G

Commelinanae I

Commelinaceae -- the spiderwort family (42-50/500-700; cosmopolitan)

Plants flowering, synoecious; with mucilaginous sap
Habit herbs; succulent; stems somewhat jointed with swollen nodes or acaulescent
Leaves alternate; simple;entire; leaf bases with closed sheath surrounding stem; parallel
venation
Inflorescences basically a panicle or 1-many scorpioid cymes (i.e. a thyrse in the
literature), each subtended by one or more boat-shaped spathes; sometimes
appearing umbelliform because the main axis is reduced to only 1-2 scorpoid cymes
fused back to back
Flowers actinomorphic or zygomorphic; perfect; hypogynous; stamen filaments sometimes
ornamented with long trichomes; flowers colorful
Calyx 3 sepals distinct or connate
Corolla 3 petals distinct (connate)
Androecium 6 (1-3) stamens, distinct (rarely filaments connate) often 1 or more reduced to
staminodes
Gynoecium superior; 1 pistil of 3 (2) connate carpels; 3 (2) locules; 1-few ovules, axile
placentation; 1 style, undivided or trifid
Fruit capsule (rarely a berry)
[Floral formula: Ca

Co

3+3

G 3]

Commelinanae I

Commelinaceae -- comments
Genera: Tradescantia (spiderwort), Zebrina (wandering jew), Commelina
(dayflower), Rhoeo (boat-flower, oyster-plant), Gibasis (brides veil),
Geogenanthus (the seersucker plant), Setcreasea (purple heart), Callisia.

Comments: An important ornamental family, this family is a hardy houseplant,

and in some mild areas, has escaped to become a weed.
The flowers in this family are insect pollinated, but do not produce nectar. The
pollen is the reward, and since a lot of pollen has to be produced to supply enough
for both pollination and the pollinator, it is believed that this family may be part of
a trend that culminated in wind-pollination.

Commelinanae I

Typhaceae -- the cat-tail family (2/13; cosmopolitan along freshwater shores)

Plants flowering, monoecious, form large clonal colonies
Habit semi-aquatic herbs (rooted in shallow water)
Leaves alternate and mostly basal, simple, entire, linear; parallel-veined, sheathing at base
(grass-like)
Inflorescences a long-peduncled double spadix, terminal spadix being staminate and the
lower pistillate, often subtended by a bract (spathe)
Flowers actinomorphic, imperfect, hypogynous, each flower sometimes subtended by
bracts
Perianth 3-4 sepaloid/bract-like tepals OR numerous bristles or scales; distinct
Androecium 1-6 stamens; filaments distinct or variously basally connate
Gynoecium superior; 1 pistil of 2 connate carpels; 1 locule; 1 ovule/locule, axile
placentation; 1 style with decurrent stigma
Fruit wind dispersed achene or one seeded follicle, dehiscent after dispersal
[Floral formula: T 0-4 A 2-5

OR

0-4

Lilianae I

Iridaceae -- the iris family (60-88/1,500; cosmopolitan, most diverse in Africa)

Plants flowering, synoecious, often scapose
Habit herbs or sometimes shrub-like
Leaves alternate or basal; simple, entire; leaf bases usually equitant; parallel venation
Inflorescences cymes, umbels, spikes, panicles or solitary; flowers often enclosed or
subtended by 1 or more spathes
Flowers perfect and showy, actinomorphic or zygomorphic, hypanthium usually welldeveloped; some genera have petaloid stigmas that are situated above a sepal in such a
way that the stamen is between the stigma and sepal
Calyx 3 sepals distinct or connate; sometimes resembling the petals (then tepals)
Corolla 3 petals distinct or connate; sometimes resembling the sepals (then tepals)
Androecium 3 stamens distinct or filaments sometimes connate; adnate to hypanthium;
anthers basifixed
Gynoecium inferior (rarely superior); 1 pistil of 3 connate carpels; 3 locules; many
ovules/locule, axile placentation; style 1, undivided or three-lobed, free or adnate to
hypanthium, stigmas sometimes petaloid
Fruit capsule
3