Basal Angiosperms

Family Chloranthaceae
Diagnostic Features:

Chloranthus elatior

Chloranthus elatior

Sarcandra glabra

Trees, shrubs, and herbs

bearing essential oils.
Leaves opposite,
petiolate, connate,
aromatic, simple,
epulvinate, stipulate.
The leaf lamina
dorsiventral with margins
serrate.
Young stems usually
cylindrical with solid
internodes.
Inflorescences terminal, or
axillary; spikes or cymes
Flowers two bracteolate;
small; reduced.
Perianth sepaline (female
and hermaphrodite
flowers), or absent (male
flowers); when present, 3,
joined, 1 whorled.
Fruit fleshy. The fruiting
carpel indehiscent;
drupaceous.

Reference: ftp://delta-intkey.com/angio/www/chlorant.htm
Chapter 6: Evolution of Flowering Plants

Flowering plants (angiosperms) Angiospermae, Magnoliophyta, Anthophyta

Monophyletic group
Sister group to the gymnosperms
Most numerous, diverse and successful extant plant group
95% of all land plants

Angiosperm Apomorphies
1. Flower (w/ perianth)
Most obvious distinguishing feature
Modified, determinate shoot system bearing stamen/s (A) and carpel/s (G)
Bisexual or perfect both stamens and carpels
Unisexual or imperfect either stamens or carpels

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Perianth modified leaves at the base of a shoot system; protects floral parts
during devt and functions as attractant for pollination
Most have 2 distinct whorls
Outer calyx green and photosynthetic; composed of leaf-like sepals or
(calyx lobes)
Inner corolla colourful, show, odoriferous; composed of petals or (corolla
lobes)
Tepal (inner & outer) undifferentiated perianth parts
Tepals, perianth parts or segments
Stamens with two lateral thecae, each with 2 microsporangia
Reduced, 3-nucleate male gametophyte
Carpels and fruit formation
Ovules with 2 integuments
Reduced, 8-nucleate female gametophyte
Endosperm formation
Sieve tube members

Chapter 7 - Family Descriptions

Heading family name (scientific and common), etymology, no. of general and
species
1st paragraph plant characteristics - habit, vegetative features (root, stem, leaf),
reproductive features (inflorescence, flower, perianth or calyx & corolla, androecium,
gynoecium, fruit, seed) + anatomical or chemical characteristics
2nd paragraph infrafamilial classification, distribution, important members of the
family
3rd paragraph diagnostic features (most important boldface-italics)
Floral formula ending; summarizes the no. and fusion of floral parts
o P perianth parts (undifferentiated)
o K no. of sepals or calyx lobes
o C petals or corolla lobes
o A androecium; no. of stamens
o G gynoecium; superior/inferior position
o () fusion of similar parts
o + - separates discrete whorls of parts
o [] less common or rare condition
o - numerous (10-12 parts)
Figures of photographs and line drawings of exemplars
Floral diagrams diagrammatic cross-sectional view of a flower bud, showing the
relative relationship of P, A, G components