|
Marantaceae
The Marantaceae are a family, the arrowroot family, or the prayer plant family, of flowering plants consisting of 31 genera and around 530 species, defining it as one of the most species-rich families in its order. Kennedy, H. (2000). “Diversification in pollination mechanisms in the Marantaceae”. Pp. 335-343 in Monocots: systematics and evolution, eds. K. L. Wilson and D. A. Morrison. Melbourne: CSIROLey, A. C., and Claßen-Bockhoff, R. (2011). “Evolution in African Marantaceae - evidence from phylogenetic, ecological and morphological studies”. Syst. Bot. 36, 277–290. doi: 10.1600/036364411X569480 Species of this family are found in lowland tropical forests of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. The majority (80%) of the species are found in the American tropics, followed by Asian (11%) and African (9%) tropics. They are commonly called the prayer-plant family and are also known for their unique secondary pollination presentation. Description The plants usually have underg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zingiberales
The Zingiberales are flowering plants forming one of four orders in the commelinids clade of monocots, together with its sister order, Commelinales. The order includes 68 genera and 2,600 species. Zingiberales are a unique though morphologically diverse order that has been widely recognised as such over a long period of time. They are usually large herbaceous plants with rhizomatous root systems and lacking an aerial stem except when flowering. Flowers are usually large and showy, and the stamens are often modified ( staminodes) to also form colourful petal-like structures that attract pollinators. Zingiberales contain eight families that are informally considered as two groups, differing in the number of fertile stamens. A " banana group" of four families appeared first and were named on the basis of large banana-like leaves. Later, a more genetically coherent (monophyletic) "ginger group" appeared, consisting of the remaining four families. The order, which has a fossil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maranta Leuconeura
''Maranta leuconeura'', widely known as the prayer plant due to its daily sunlight-dependent movements (which are said to resemble hands “in-prayer”), is a species of flowering plant in the family Marantaceae native to the Brazilian tropical forests. It is a variable, rhizomatous perennial, growing to tall and broad, with crowded clumps of evergreen, strikingly-marked oval leaves, each up to long. The plant spreads itself horizontally, carpeting an entire small area of forest floor, sending roots into the substrate at each leaf node. ''Maranta'', in-addition to fellow “prayer-plant” genera (like '' Calathea'', '' Ctenanthe'', '' Goeppertia'' and '' Stromanthe''), is closely related to such groups as '' Alpinia'', ''Ensete'', '' Canna'', '' Curcuma'', '' Heliconia'', ''Musa'' and '' Zingiber''. Description The specific epithet ''leuconeura'' means "white-veined", referring to the leaves. The leaves have a habit of lying flat during the day, and folding in an e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helen Kennedy (botanist)
Helen Kennedy (born 1944) is an American botanist, botanical collector, and expert of the Marantaceae family. Taxa named after Kennedy include '' Philodendron heleniae'' and '' Guzmania kennedyae.'' In 2011, Kennedy received the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Society of Woman Geographers Education Kennedy was born in Riverside, California. She has a bachelor's degree in biology and a master's degree in botany from University of California, Davis. She also has a doctoral degree from University of California. Career Kennedy has worked at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama and has served as curator of the Summit Canal Zone Herbarium in Panama. She has also worked as Curator of the Summit Herbarium at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Kennedy has also worked for the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg and the Chicago Field Museum. As of 2007 she was an active collector for the University of British Columbia (UBC) herbarium, contributing 1,000 specimens since ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canna (plant)
''Canna'' or canna lily is a genus of flowering plants consisting of 10 species. It is the only genus in the family Cannaceae.The Cannaceae of the World, Hiltje Maas-van de Kamer, H. Maas-van der Kamer & Paulus Johannes Maria Maas, P.J.M. Maas, BLUMEA 53: 247–318 All of the genus's species are native to the Neotropical realm, American tropicsLamarck, Jean-Baptiste. ''Botanical Encyclelopédie''. and were naturalized in Europe, India and Africa in the 1860s.Chaté, E. (1867).'' Le Canna, son histoire, sa culture. ''Libraire Centrale d'Agriculture et de Jardinage Although they grow native to the tropics, most cultivars have been developed in temperateness, temperate climates and are easy to grow in most countries of the world, as long as they receive at least 6–8 hours average sunlight during the summer, and are moved to a warm location for the winter. See the Canna (Plant) Gallery, ''Canna'' cultivar gallery for photographs of ''Canna'' cultivars. Cannas are not true lili ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zingiberineae
The ginger-familiesKress, W.J. & Specht, C.D. 2005. Between Cancer and Capricorn: Phylogeny, evolution and ecology of the primarily tropical Zingiberales. ''Biol. Skr.'' 55: 459-478. ISSN 0366-3612. . [Pp. 459-478, in Friis, I., y Balslev, H. (eds), Proceedings of a Symposium on Plant Diversity and Complexity Patterns - Local, Regional and Global Dimensions. Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, Copenhagen.] http://spechtlab.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/spechtlab/publications/12%20Kress%20and%20Specht%202005.pdf and references thereinAndersson, L. (1998). «Strelitziaceae». In: K. Kubitzki. ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants. IV. Flowering Plants. Monocotyledons. Alismatanae and Commelinanae (except Gramineae).'' Berlin: Springer-Verlag. pp. 451-454. or ginger group or Core ZingiberalesJudd et al. 2007. Zingiberales. ''Plant Systematics, a Phylogenetic Approach''. 3rd edition. Sinauer. Pp. 301-302. is a terminal clade in the order Zingiberales (Monocotyledoneae) th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole () is the stalk that attaches the leaf blade to the Plant stem, stem. It is able to twist the leaf to face the sun, producing a characteristic foliage arrangement (spacing of blades), and also optimizing its exposure to sunlight. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole in some species are called stipules. The terms wikt:petiolate, petiolate and wikt:apetiolate, apetiolate are applied respectively to leaves with and without petioles. Description The petiole is a stalk that attaches a leaf to the plant stem. In petiolate leaves the leaf stalk may be long (as in the leaves of celery and rhubarb), or short (for example basil). When completely absent, the blade attaches directly to the stem and is said to be Sessility (botany), sessile or apetiolate. Subpetiolate leaves have an extremely short petiole, and may appear sessile. The broomrape family Orobanchaceae is an example of a family in which the leaves are always sessile. In some other plant group ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pulvinus
A pulvinus (pl. ''pulvini'') may refer to a joint-like thickening at the base of a plant leaf or leaflet that facilitates growth-independent movement. Pulvinus is also a botanical term for the persistent peg-like bases of the leaves in the coniferous genera ''Spruce, Picea'' and ''Tsuga''. Pulvinar movement is common, for example, in members of the bean family Fabaceae (Leguminosae) and the prayer plant family Marantaceae. Pulvini may be present at the base of the Petiole (botany), leaf stalk or on its other end (Apex (leaf), apex), where the leaf is attached, or in a compound leaf at the place where the leaflets are joined to its Rachis#In botany, middle stem. They consist of a core of vascular tissue within a flexible, bulky cylinder of thin-walled Ground tissue#Parenchyma, parenchyma cells. A pulvinus is also sometimes called a geniculum (meaning a knee-like structure in Latin). Pulvinar movement is caused by changes in turgor pressure leading to a contraction or expansion of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maranta (plant)
''Maranta'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Marantaceae, native plant, native to tropical Central and South America and the West Indies. ''Maranta'' was named for Bartolomeo Maranta, an Italian physician and botanist of the sixteenth century. About 40-50 species are currently recognized. They all have rhizomes and naturally form perennial plant, perennial clumps. The crowded oval, evergreen Leaf, leaves are undivided with sheathing Plant stem, stalks. The leaves are flat by day and folded up as the day comes to an end, hence the common name "prayer plant" which attaches to the genus and its species - notably ''M. leuconeura''. The flowers are small with three petals and two larger petal-like staminodes. Cultivation ''Maranta arundinacea'' is cultivated to produce the edible starch arrowroot. Some species such as ''Maranta leuconeura'' (prayer plant) and ''M. arundinacea'' are grown as houseplants in a warmish house or conservatory environment. They ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
APG System
The APG system (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system) of plant classification is the first version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy. Published in 1998 by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, it was replaced by the improved APG II in 2003, APG III system in 2009 and APG IV system in 2016. History The original APG system is unusual in being based, not on total evidence, but on the cladistic analysis of the DNA sequences of three genes, two chloroplast genes and one gene coding for ribosomes. Although based on molecular evidence only, its constituent groups prove to be supported by other evidence as well, for example pollen morphology supports the split between the eudicots and the rest of the former dicotyledons. The system is rather controversial in its decisions at the family level, splitting a number of long-established families and submerging some other families. It also is unusual in not using botanical names above the level of order, that is, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flowering Plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed within a fruit. The group was formerly called Magnoliophyta. Angiosperms are by far the most diverse group of Embryophyte, land plants with 64 Order (biology), orders, 416 Family (biology), families, approximately 13,000 known Genus, genera and 300,000 known species. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody Plant stem, stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of broad-leaved trees, shrubs and vines, and most aquatic plants. Angiosperms are distinguished from the other major seed plant clade, the gymnosperms, by having flowers, xylem consisting of vessel elements instead of tracheids, endosperm within their seeds, and fruits that completely envelop the seeds. The ancestors of flowering plants diverged from the commo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stamen
The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament and an anther which contains sporangium, microsporangia. Most commonly, anthers are two-lobed (each lobe is termed a locule) and are attached to the filament either at the base or in the middle area of the anther. The sterile (i.e. nonreproductive) tissue between the lobes is called the Connective (botany), connective, an extension of the filament containing conducting strands. It can be seen as an extension on the dorsal side of the anther. A pollen grain develops from a microspore in the microsporangium and contains the male gametophyte. The size of anthers differs greatly, from a tiny fraction of a millimeter in ''Wolfia'' spp up to five inches (13 centimeters) in ''Canna iridiflora'' and ''Strelitzia nicolai''. The stamens in a flower ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phylogeny
A phylogenetic tree or phylogeny is a graphical representation which shows the evolutionary history between a set of species or Taxon, taxa during a specific time.Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA. In other words, it is a branching diagram or a tree (graph theory), tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological species or other entities based upon similarities and differences in their physical or genetic characteristics. In evolutionary biology, all life on Earth is theoretically part of a single phylogenetic tree, indicating common ancestry. Phylogenetics is the study of phylogenetic trees. The main challenge is to find a phylogenetic tree representing optimal evolutionary ancestry between a set of species or taxa. computational phylogenetics, Computational phylogenetics (also phylogeny inference) focuses on the algorithms involved in finding optimal phylogenetic tree in the phylogenetic landscape. Phylogene ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
