CASUARINACEAE

Casuarina equisetifolia

A small family of two genera and 65 species confined to the southern hemisphere from South East Asia to northeast Australia. In India the family is represented by single genus and single species which occurs on east side of Bay of Bengal from Chittagong southwards and also cultivated in several parts of India.

Horse-tail tree (Casuarina equisetifolia) is the familiar example of the family.

Vegetative characters:

They are much branched evergreen trees or shrubs of xerophytic habit with long or short, green , cylindrical and striate, whorled and jointed branches. The internodes of branches are furrowed. The leaves are in whorls of four to sixteen depending upon the species. They are small scale like linear lanceolate and are always basally connate forming a sheath surrounding the node.

Inflorescence and flowers:

The flowers are unisexual and the trees are monoecious or dioecious.

The male flowers are born in catkin like spikes which are terminal at the end of the green branchlets. At each of node of the Inflorescence axis there are several flowers protected by a sheath formed of the combined bracts. The stamens hang out over the edge of the sheath.

The female flowers are crowded in dense spherical or ovoid heads at the ends of the short lateral branches. The perianth is absent and the flowers are naked. The gynoecium is bicarpellary and syncarpous with a superior ovary.

Fruits and seeds:

The fruit is a samaroid indehiscent nut enclosed by persistent woody bracteoles which separate on maturity. The fruits are aggregated into a dry woody cone- like multiple fruit. The seeds are nonendospermic with straight embryo and flat cotyledons.

Pollination is by wind. Seed dispersal of Casuarina equisetifolia is by sea.

Economic importance:

The wood of several species of Casuarina is valued for hardness. The wood of Casuarina equisetifolia is known as ironwood. Some species are grown for ornament.

CARYOPHYLLACEAE

CARYOPHYLLACEAE

In India this family consists of 20 genera and 105 species mostly in temperate regions.

Vegetative characters:

Mostly annual or perennial herbs and rarely under shrubs . Stellaria aquatica is an aquatic herb.

The root is usually a tap root and the stem is often swollen at nodes.

The leaves are opposite or rarely alternate, simple, mostly linear to lanceolate and sessile. The two leaves at the stem are often connected basally around the stem. The stipules are usually absent.

Inflorescence and flowers:

The Inflorescence is typically dichasial cyme often terminating the main axis. A branch is formed in the axil of each bracteole of the main axis but one of the branches tends to outgrow the other and in the ultimate branching the weaker branch fails to develop. Thus the Inflorescence which is dichasial cyme in its initial branching pass into scorpioid cyme. This type of Inflorescence is very characteristic of the family and is known as cincinnus or caryophyllus type of Inflorescence.

The flowers are hermaphrodite or rarely unisexual, actinomorphic, pentamerous and hypogynous or rarely slightly perigynous as in arenaria.

The calyx is usually five basally connate sepals .

The corolla has as many petals as the sepals. The petals are free and are usually differentiated into a limb and a claw. The stamens are usually twice the number of petals in two equal and alternate whorls. They show obdiplostemonous condition. The filaments are distinct or slightly connate at the base.

The gynoecium is of two or three to five fused carpels.the ovary is superior or slightly inferior and unilocular with free central placentation.

A disc is present at the base of the stamens which is annular or divided into glands.

The fruit is membranous or crustaceous capsule opening by valves or apical teeth.

The seeds are endospermic with more or less curved embryo.

Pollination is by insects.

The seeds are dispersed by water, wind or by adhesion or by birds, animals and human agency.

Examples:

The family is valuable for its large colourful ornamental flowers which are easily grown.

Dianthus species are cultivated for very showy flowers.

Dianthus caryophylus. (Carnation)

Dianthus plumarius

Dianthus latifolius

Dianthus barbatus

Vaccaria pyramidata

Silene

Lychnis

Gypsofila

Cerastium

Arenaria

Stellaria media; S.vestita

Spergula arvensis

CAPPARIDACEAE

Capparis grandis

Cadaba fruiticosa

Capparis decidua(aphylla)


Crataeva nurvala


Maerua oblongifolia

CAPPARIDACEAE OR CAPER FAMILY
In India 7 genera and 53 species occuring in western and south India and few in tropical Himalayas.
Vegetative characters:
The family includes herbs shrubs and climbers.They contain watery sap.
The leaves are alternate and simple(Capparis) or more commonly palmately compound(3-9 foliolate).The stipules are usually present which may be foliaceous(Cleome) or spinose(Capparis).
Inflorescence and flowers : The flowers are solitary and in fascicles of 3 or4 but more commonly the are racemose.
The flowers are bracteate,complete, usually bisexual actinomorphic or some what zygomorphic by unequal development of members as in Capparis, tetramerous and hypogynous.
The calyx is usually of four sepals which are free or basally connate with valvate or imbricate aestivation.The four sepals are arranged in two series. The posterior sepal forms a hood like structure in Capparis.
The corolla is of four free petals but occasionally the are two(Cadaba) or altogether absent(Roydsia).The petals are diagonal,often clawed and valvate or imbricate.They are inserted on the edge of a disc in Maerua.
The androecium is of four to numerous free stamens.An androphore is present in some species of Cleome.
The gynoecium is usually bicarpellary and syncarpous; the ovary is sessile or elevated on a short or long gynophore, unilocular with two or four parietal placentae. The style is usually short with a bilobed or a capitate stigma.
The fruit is a capsule dehiscing by two valves(Cleome) or a berry(Capparis) or drupaceous. The seeds are angled or reniform, nonendospermic and with an incurved embryo.
Pollination and dispersal : The pollination is by insects which visit flowers for nectar secreted by the disc.The fruits are dispersed by water current(Crataeva) or by cattle by adhesion due to viscid exudation.
Examples :
Capparis
Cleome gynandra
Crataeva nurvala
C. religiosa
Maerua oblongifolia
Cadaba fruiticosa

CAESALPINIACEAE

Colvillea racemosa

Bauhinia

Cassia grandis

Parkinsonia aculeata

Tamarindus indica

Delonix regia

CAESALPINIACEAE
Bentham and Hooker divided the Leguminosae into three subfamilies : Papilionaceae,Caesalpinieae and mimoseae.Most of the recent taxonomist treat them as three distinct families.

CAESALPINIACEAE is a very big family, mostly tropical and subtropical trees and shrubs comprising about 150 genera and 2,200 species.In India 23 genera and 80 species chiefly in western peninsular india.
Vegetative characters:
Mostly trees or shrubs or rarely herbs. Occasionally woody climbers.
The leaves are stipulate, alternate, and mostly pinnately compound but may be bipinnate or simple.The leaf base is often swollen.
Inflorescence is racemose or pannicle rarely cymose.
The flowers are mostly large and showy, zygomorphic,pentamerous, bisexual and hypogynous or perigynous.
The perianth commonly consists of a calyx and corolla of 5 segments each; the petals are distinct, overlapping (i.e., imbricate) in bud, with the posterior one (flag or banner) innermost in position.
In tamarindus and Amherstia only the Three upper petals are developed and the two lower are reduced to scales.The petals are altogether absent in Saracca.
The androecium usually consists of 1-10 distinct or variously united stamens, some of which are commonly reduced to nonfunctional staminodes.
The pistil is simple, consisting of one style and stigma, and a superior ovary with one locule containing 2-many marginal ovules.
The fruit is usually a legume.
The pollination is by insects or birds and the seed dispersal is by wind or by animals.
Examples:

Bauhinia
Caesalpinia pulcherrima
Tamarindus indica
Cassia
Hardwickia binata
Delonix regia
Saraca indica
Parkinsonia aculeata
Amherstia nobilis
Colvillea racemosa

CACTACEAE

Epiphyllum oxypetalum

CACTACEAE

30-200 genara and around 200 species.
The family is almost restricted exclusively to the drier regions of north and south America and is most abundant in Mexico and central America.
Several species of Opuntias have been naturalised in India.
Vegetative characters :
The members of the family are mostly fleshy and succulent, and some grow upto 20 meters high.
The root system is generally small and shallow with elongated slender and fleshy roots.
Cactus stems are fleshy,peculiar and of various shapes. The leaves are alternate, generally extremely reduced and ephemeral or absent, or rarely they are well developed and fleshy. The leaves are associated with highly modified axillary buds or shoots called areoles that bear spines.
The inflorescence is a terminal or lateral panicle in Pereskia but in majority the flowers are solitary born upon or near the areole or on the axiles of tubercles.
The flowers are sessile often large bright coloured and showy, mostly bisexual and actinomorphic and commonly have many weakly differentiated perianth segments arising from an epigynous zone.
The androecium typically consists of a very large number of stamens arising from the inner face of the epigynous zone.
The gynoecium consists of a compound pistil of 3-many carpels, an equal number of stigmas, and an equal number of parietal placentae with numerous ovules in the single locule of the inferior ovary.
The fruit is a berry with numerous seeds, often with spines or bristles.
Large showy flowers are adapted for insect pollination.
Fruits are sweet in taste and are often distributed by animals.

Examples and Uses:
The fruits of several species of opuntias are edible.
Species of opuntias Nopalaea etc are used for hedges along the fields.
Cochineal dye is derived from the small insect living on the species of Opuntias and Nopalaea.
Timber is obtained from Pereskia.
Spineless opuntia is grown as fodder.
Because of their peculiar forms and gorgeous flowers several species of Mammilaria,Epiphyllum,Cereus,Echinocereus are grown in green houses.
Epiphyllum oxypetalum -ब्र्म्हकमळ

BALSAMINACEAE

Impatiens scabrida

Impatiens balsamina

Impatiens dalzelli

Impatiens lawii

BALSAMINACEAE

Two genera and more than 900 species: mainly in tropical and subtropical Africa, some species in temperate Asia, Europe, and North America; two genera and 228 species (187 endemic, two introduced) in China; three additional species (all endemic) are of uncertain placement.

All but one of the species in the family belong to Impatiens. The unispecific Hydrocera is confined to India and SE Asia.

Herbs annual or perennial [rarely epiphytic or subshrubs]

Stems erect or procumbent, usually succulent, often rooting at lower nodes.

Leaves simple, alternate, opposite, or verticillate, not stipulate, or sometimes with stipular glands at base of petiole, petiolate or sessile, pinnately veined, margin serrate to nearly entire, teeth often glandular-mucronate.

Flowers bisexual, protandrous, zygomorphic, resupinate to through 180° in axillary or subterminal racemes or pseudo-umbellate inflorescences, or not pedunculate, fascicled or solitary.

Sepals 3(or 5) ; lateral sepals free or connate, margins entire or serrate; lower sepal (lip) large, petaloid, usually navicular, funnelform, saccate, or cornute, tapering or abruptly constricted into a nectariferous spur broadly or narrowly filiform, straight, curved, incurved, or ± coiled, swollen at tip, or pointed, rarely 2-lobed, rarely without spur.

Petals 5, free, upper petal (standard) flat or cucullate, small or large, often crested abaxially, lateral petals free or united in pairs (wing).

Stamens 5, alternating with petals, connate or nearly so into a ring surrounding ovary and stigma, falling off in one piece before stigma ripens; filaments short, flat with a scalelike appendage inside; anthers 2-celled, connivent, opening by a slit or pore.

Gynoecium 4- or 5-carpellate, syncarpous; ovary superior, 4- or 5-loculed, each locule with 2 to many anatropous ovules; style 1, very short or ± absent; stigmas 1-5.

Fruit an indehiscent berry, or a 4- or 5-valved loculicidal fleshy capsule, usually dehiscing elastically. Seeds dispersed explosively from opening valves, without endosperm; testa smooth or tuberculate.

Examples: Different species of Impatiens.Terada

BIXACEAE

BIXACEAE
A small family. It has only one genus and about four species. It is recognised by reddish sap,palminerved leaves,horse shoe shaped anthers and seeds with red fleshy testa. Bixaceae is mainly found in south america. An orange edible dye produced from the -testa of Bixa orellina called "annatto" is used to colour butter cheese and other food products.It is known as Rocou in french. and Shendri in Marathi. Only one plant known Bixa orellina (Lipstick plant) शेंदरी

Characters:
Leaves alternate heart shaped, simple entire
Sepals 4-7.Petals 5.Stamens indefinite distinct inserted upon the receptacle at the base of the calyx. Anthers 2- celled Ovary superior.
Fruit capsule or berry.