Semi-Technical Description of a Typical Flowering Plant
- The plant is described beginning with its habit, vegetative characters, and then floral characters.
- Then a floral diagram and a floral formula are presented.
- Floral formula is represented by some symbols.
- Fusion is indicated by enclosing the figure within brackets and adhesion by a line drawn above the symbols of the floral parts.
- Floral formula also shows cohesion and adhesion within parts of whorls and between whorls.
- A floral diagram gives information about the number of parts of a flower, their arrangement and relation.
Floral formula: ⊕⚥K₂₊₂ C₄ A₂₊₄ G(₂)
Some Important Families
1. Fabaceae
This family was formerly known as Papilionoideae, a subfamily of Leguminosae. It is distributed worldwide.
Vegetative Characters
- Trees, shrubs, or herbs; roots with nodules.
- Stem: Erect or climber.
- Leaves: Alternate; pinnately compound or simple. Leaf base pulvinate; stipulate; venation reticulate.
Floral Characters
- Inflorescence: Racemose.
- Flower: Bisexual, zygomorphic.
- Calyx: Sepals five, gamosepalous; valvate or imbricate aestivation.
- Corolla: Petals five, polypetalous, papilionaceous (with a posterior standard, two lateral wings, and two anterior petals forming a keel that encloses the stamens and pistil); vexillary aestivation.
- Androecium: Ten, diadelphous, anthers dithecous.
- Gynoecium: Ovary superior, monocarpellary, unilocular with many ovules, style single.
- Fruit: Legume; seed one to many, non-endospermic.
Floral Formula
%⚥K(₅) C₁₊₂₊(₂) A(₉)₊₁ G₁
Economic Importance
- Pulses: e.g., gram, arhar, sem, moong, soybean.
- Edible oil: e.g., soybean, groundnut.
- Dye: e.g., Indigofera.
- Fibres: e.g., sun hemp.
- Fodder: e.g., Sesbania, Trifolium.
- Ornamentals: e.g., lupin, sweet pea.
- Medicine: e.g., muliathi.
2. Solanaceae (Potato Family)
It is a large family widely distributed in the tropics, subtropics, and even temperate zones.
Vegetative Characters
- Habit: Mostly herbs, shrubs, and small trees.
- Stem: Herbaceous, rarely woody. Aerial; erect, cylindrical, branched, solid or hollow; hairy or glabrous. Underground stem in potato (Solanum tuberosum).
- Leaves: Alternate, simple, rarely pinnately compound, exstipulate; venation reticulate.
Floral Characters
- Inflorescence: Solitary, axillary or cymose (as in Solanum).
- Flower: Bisexual, actinomorphic.
- Calyx: Sepals five, united, persistent, valvate aestivation.
- Corolla: Petals five, united; valvate aestivation.
- Androecium: Stamens five, epipetalous.
- Gynoecium: Bicarpellary, obliquely placed, syncarpous; ovary superior, bilocular, placenta swollen with many ovules, axile.
- Fruits: Berry or capsule.
- Seeds: Many, endospermous.
Floral Formula
⊕⚥K(₅) C(₅) A₅ G(₂)
Economic Importance
- Food: e.g., tomato, brinjal, potato.
- Spice: e.g., chilli.
- Medicine: e.g., belladonna, ashwagandha.
- Fumigatory: e.g., tobacco.
- Ornamentals: e.g., petunia.
3. Liliaceae (Lily Family)
A characteristic representative of monocotyledonous plants. It is distributed worldwide.
Vegetative Characters
- Perennial herbs with underground bulbs/corms/rhizomes.
- Leaves: Mostly basal, alternate, linear, exstipulate with parallel venation.
Floral Characters
- Inflorescence: Solitary/cymose; often umbellate clusters.
- Flower: Bisexual; actinomorphic.
- Perianth: Tepal six (3+3), often united into tube; valvate aestivation.
- Androecium: Stamen six, (3+3).
- Gynoecium: Tricarpellary, syncarpous, ovary superior, trilocular with many ovules; axile placentation.
- Fruit: Capsule, rarely berry.
- Seed: Endospermous.
Floral Formula
⊕⚥P(₃₊₃) A₃₊₃ G(₃)
Economic Importance
- Ornamentals: e.g., tulip, Gloriosa.
- Medicine: e.g., Aloe.
- Vegetables: e.g., Asparagus.
- Colchicines: e.g., Colchicum autumnale.
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