Dicot Families – MALVACEAE
Dicot Families – MALVACEAE
DICOT FAMILIES – MALVACEAE – the cotton family
Systematic position
Class: Dicotyledonae
Sub-class: Polypetalae
Series: Thalamiflorae
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
General characters
Distribution
This family includes about 82 genera and more than 1,500 species.
The plants are cosmopolitan in distribution, more abundant in tropical and subtropical regions.
In India, Malvaceae is represented by 22 genera and 125 species.
Habit
Plants may be annual herbs ( eg. Malva sylvestris) or perennial shrubs (eg. Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) or trees (eg. Thespesia populnea).
The members of this family have mucilagenous substance. Stellate hairs occur on their young parts.
Root
Tap root system.
Stem
Aerial, erect (eg. Malva sylvestris), branched, woody (eg. Thespesia populnea), decumbent as in Malva rotundifolia (Thirikalamalli) and usually covered with stellate hairs.
Leaf
Petiolate, simple, entire (eg. Thespesia populnea) or palmately lobed (eg. Gossypium arboreum), alternate, stipulate, margins usually toothed (eg. Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) and showing reticulate venation.
Inflorescence
Solitary, terminal (eg. Malvastrum coromendelia) or solitary, axillary (eg.Thespesia populnea) or terminal or axillary cyme.eg.Pavonia odorata (Peramutti).
Flower
Bracteate or ebracteate, bracteolate or ebracteolate, pedicellate, dichlamydeous, pentamerous, complete, actinomorphic, regular, bisexual and hypogynous.
Epicalyx
Bracteoles forming a whorl outer to calyx is called epicalyx. Bracteoles 3 in Malva sylvestris, 5 to 8 in Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, 10 to 12 in Pavonia odorata and absent in Abutilon indicum.
Calyx
Sepals 5, green, gamosepalous showing valvate
aestivation. Corolla
Petals 5, coloured, polypetalous but slightly fused at the base due to adhesion with staminal tube, regular and showing twisted aestivation.
Androecium
Numerous stamens, filaments are fused to form a staminal tube around the style and monadelphous.
The staminal tube is fused with the petals at their bases.
Anthers are monothecous, reniform, transversely attached to filaments and transversely dehiscent.
Gynoecium
Ovary superior, two to many carpels but usually 5 to 10 carpels and syncarpous.
Ovary with two to many locules. Pentacarpellary in Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, 10 in Althaea and 15 to 20 in Abutilon indicum.
Number of locules usually corresponds to number of carpels.
Each locule contains one to many ovules on axile placentation.
Style long, slender and passes through the staminal tube ending in two to many distinct round stigmas.
Fruit
Loculicidal capsule e.g. Abelmoschus esculentus or schizocarp as in Abutilon indicum and Sida cordifoliaI (Nilathuthi).
Seed
Endosperm is scanty, covered with hairs as in Gossypium barbadense.
Explain the MALVACEAE General characters with detail?
Describe briefly General characters malvaceae ?
Mention the systematic position of Malvaceae.
Name any three fibre plants of Malvaceae.
Write any three binomials of food plants of Malvaceae.
List out characteristic features of members of Malvaceae.
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Other links
TAXONOMY OF ANGIOSPERMS, TYPES OF CLASSIFICATION
HERBARIA AND ITS USES IMPORTANCE OF HERBARIUM
Bentham and Hooker’s classification of plants
Botanical description of Hibiscus and Economical importance of Malvaceae
Solanaceae – Datura metal and Economic importance
Euphorbiaceae and Ricinus communis and its Economic importance