NYCTAGINACEA
E
Bougainvillea
Bougainvillea
betalains:
vs. anthocyanins:
Mirabilis - the Four
O’Clock
Boerhaavia
Pisonia
Staminate flower - e
Pistillate flower - h
Current
Angiosperm
Phylogeny
Group Tree
for Flowering
Plants
CARYOPHYLLALES
NYCTAGINACEAE (CARYOPHYLLALES, CORE EUDICOTS)
NUMBERS:
34 Gen era, 350 species
GEOGRAPHY: t ropical and wa rm regions , especiall y New World
ECOLOGY: small trees and li ana s in forests, als o disturbance -colonizing herbs
CARYOPHYLLALES CHARACTERS: peria nth uniseriate, placentation ba sal,
herbaceou s shoots wit h swollen node s, woody species wit h ano malous secondary g rowth
(in Nyc taginaceae, concentric rings o f vascu la r bund les or alt ernate rings of xy lem and
phloem) , seeds with perisperm (and , in Nyctaginace ae, a littl e endospe rm) , plants with
betalains, embryo curved around pe risperm in seed, phloem w it h P-type sieve -tube
plastids (globular protein c rystalloid surroudned by ring of proteinaceou s filaments)
CHARAC TERS DIAGNOSTIC OF FAMILY
Plants often w eakly thorny
Leave s sim ple, entire
Flowers in b racteate group s of one to seve ral
Perianth of one conna te who rl tightly clasping the ova ry, which tricks you into thinking
the ovary is inferior—the conn ate tepals are pli cate like a morning glory
Gynoec ium a singl e simple pistil with a single basal ovule
Fruit a drupe or cove red with sticky secretion or wit h c li nging hairs
CACTACEAE
CARYOPHYLLALES
Cactaceae: New world except for Rhipsalis …
Pereskia
ordinary leaf
Pereskia stem
http://www.esb.utexas.edu/mauseth/ResearchOnCacti/
Rhipsalis - the epiphytic cactus
The Christmas cacti - Schumbergera,
Zygocactus
Lemaireocereus, Santa
Rosa, Costa Rica
Cacti as prominent parts of a forest,
Oaxaca, Mexico
the node of
a cactus
Opuntia - the prickly pear
CACTACEAE (CARYOPHYLLALES, EUDICOTS)
NUMBERS: 30-200 Gener a; Mabberle y says 97 (notable generic instabilit y),
1000-2000 species
GEOGRAPHY: New World only (one genus , Rhipsalis, reache s Afri ca and A sia introduced?)
ECOLOGY: terrestrial in deserts and dry forests; epiphytes in dry to wet lowland
forests,
(one p rimit ive wet tropical forest shrub w it h leaves - the genus
Pereskia)
CARYOPHYLLALES CHARACTERS: peria nth uniseriate, placentation ba sal,
herbaceou s shoots wit h swollen node s, woody species wit h ano malous secondary g rowth
(in C actaceae often w it h large va scular rays), seeds wit h p eris perm, plants wit h betalains,
embryo cu rved around pe risperm in seed, ph loem wit h P-type sieve -tube plastids
(globul ar protein crystall oid surroudned by ring o f proteinaceous f il aments)
CHARAC TERS DIAGNO STIC OF FAMILY:
Hab it woody (or herbaceou s), often unbr anched ; stems suc culent
Stem has ar eoles (each node include s axill ary bud s or sho rt shoot s with leave s or
bud scales replaced by spines, often wit h tufts of sho rt barbed irrit ant hairs
call ed glochids)
Leave s are mi ssing o r shed early (primiti vely p resent in Pereskia)
Flowers perfect, radiall y (rarely b il aterall y) symmetrical
Perianth of many tepals, often unit ed at base
And roecium of many stamens , organ ized in trunk bund les and deve lopment
Gynoec ium of 3-8 conna te carpels, placentation ba sal- laminar or pa rietal in a
single locule, ova ry inferior (adna tion receptacular, often imme rsed in stem t ip
Fruit a berry
CAM (Crassulacean Acid Metaboli sm = night carbon d ioxide absorption )
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