The Monocots: Part 1 Overview, Basal, and “Petaloid” Groups

1. The Monocots: Part 1Overview, Basal, and “Petaloid” Groups Spring 2014

2. Figure 7.1 from the text

3. Synapomorphies of Monocots • Root system adventitious • One cotyledon • Stems with scattered vascular bundles (no secondary growth); herbaceous • Leaves parallel-veined with a sheathing base • Flowers pentacyclic(5 whorls), trimerous • Sieve tube member plastids with several cuneate protein crystals • Lots of molecular support for monophyly

4. Monocot characters Adventitious roots: -derived from structures other than another root

5. Monocot characters • One cotyledon! MONOCOT NON- MONOCOT

6. Monocot characters Scattered vascular bundles in stem • numerous; actually complex organization • no vascular cambium (a few weird exceptions)

7. Monocot characters Leaves: • parallel venation in most monocots [may be reversals with net-venation!] • sheathing base Trillium Smilax

8. Monocot characters • Pentacyclic, trimerous flowers with 2 perianth whorls and 2 whorls of stamens and the gynoecium as 1 whorl

9. Monocot characters Cuneate protein bodies in sieve cell plastids • “wedge-shaped” inclusions • function unknown

10. Additional features of monocots • Leaves formed from the basal end of the leaf primordium • Usually with monosulcate pollen • Lack glandular teeth on leaves

11. How many monocots? • ca. 3,000 genera • ca. 65,000 species • 22-25% of angiosperms • Include: • -aroids • -bananas • -lilies • -gingers • -orchids (20,000+ spp.) • -irises • -palms • -grasses (11,000+ spp.)

12. Fig. 7.17 from Simpson

13. Phylogeny of Monocot Groups Acorales Alismatales Liliales Asparagales Dioscoreales Pandanales Arecales Poales Commelinales Zingiberales Basal “Petaloid” Commelinid

14. Basal and “Petaloid” Monocot Groups Order Acorales Acoraceae Order Alismatales Araceae* Alismataceae Order Liliales Liliaceae* Order Asparagales Agavaceae Alliaceae* Amaryllidaceae Iridaceae* Orchidaceae* *required families

15. Basal Monocots:Acorales: Acoraceae • Widespread, temperate throughout tropical regions • Aquatic herb • Diversity: 1-3 spp. in 1 genus (Acorus) • Flowers: typical of Araceae, coalesced into a spike-like spadix • Significant features: Sister to the rest of the monocots; contain ethereal oils. • Special uses: none • Family not required, but Acorus evolutionarily important

16. Acorus (sweet flag)– The most basal monocot! Aquatic.

17. “Petaloid” Monocots—Alismatales:Araceae(The Arum Family) • Cosmopolitan; greatest diversity in tropical regions • Mainly terrestrial and some aquatic herbs, vines, epiphytes, floating aquatics • Diversity: 3,300 species, 104 genera • Flowers: many, small; lacking extensive perianth, carpels 2-3; if unisexual then spatially separated in inflorescence or sometimes plants dioecious • Significant features: inflorescence – spadix subtended by a spathe (specialized leaf) • Special uses: many ornamentals; Colocasia as food • Required family

18. Araceae—Arisaema Arisaema dracontium green dragon Arisaema triphyllum Jack-in-the-pulpit Arisaema sikokianum -Jack-in-the-pulpit is one of our common spring wildflowers

19. Araceae Philodendron Monstera

20. Amorphophallus(Corpse flower) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHaWu2rcP94

21. Araceae: Lemna and friends • Reduced plant body: no stem or leaves; • sometimes no roots • Rarely flower Lemna ~ duckweed

22. Alismatales: Araceae Economic plants and products: • Colocasia esculenta • Taro “root” or dasheen • “poi” • 10% of the world uses asstaple (starch) in diet

23. “Petaloid” Monocots—Alismatales:Alismataceae(The Water Plantain Family) • Widely distributed • Aquatic & wetland rhizomatous herbs • Number of species: 88 species, 15 genera • Flowers: sepals & petals distinct, many apocarpous carpels; flowers or floral axes often whorled • Significant features: rhizomatous • Special uses: ornamental aquatics • Family not required

24. Phylogeny of Monocot Groups Acorales Alismatales Liliales Asparagales Dioscoreales Pandanales Arecales Poales Commelinales Zingiberales Basal “Petaloid” Commelinid

25. Liliales • Nectaries at base of tepals • Spots on tepals • Extrorse anthers

26. “Petaloid” Monocots—Liliales:Liliaceae(The Lily Family) • Widely distributed in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere • Perennial herbs, usually with bulbs and contractile roots • Number of species: ca. 600 species, in 16 genera • Flowers: tepals 6, distinct, carpels 3, stamens 6 • Significant features: Fruit a loculicidal capsule, sometimes a berry; no onion-like odor • Special uses: many ornamentals • Required family

27. Liliaceae - Lilium

28. Liliaceae Erythronium trout-lily -native spring wildflower of woodlands

29. Tulipa -scapose herbs from tunicate bulbs -leaves 2-several on a stem -perianth campanulate to cuplike -tepals 6, erect -stigma prominently 3-lobed

30. Liliaceae Economic plants and products (horticultural): Tulipa tulip Lilium Easter lily

31. Phylogeny of Monocot Groups Acorales Alismatales Liliales Asparagales Dioscoreales Pandanales Arecales Poales Commelinales Zingiberales Basal “Petaloid” Commelinid

32. Asparagales vs. Liliales • Herbs to woody; • sometimes succulent • Tepals not spotted • Nectaries septal • Style usually 1, simple • Seed coat collapsed • to + present • Phytomelan crust • (seeds black) from dry • fruits; not in fleshy fruit • Herbs; not succulent • Tepals often spotted • Nectaries at base • of tepals/filaments • Styles 1 (trifid) or 3 • Seed coat present • No phytomelan crust • (seeds not black)

33. Figure 7.32 from the text

34. “Petaloid” Monocots—Asparagales: Alliaceae(Onion Family) • Widely distributed in temperate and tropical regions; also semiarid. • Bulb-forming herbs with basal, usually narrow leaves • Number of species: ca. 600 species, in 13 genera • Flowers: Often showy, tepals 6, stamens 6, 3 connate carpels, ovary superior; inflorescence umbellate; fruit a loculicidal capsule. • Significant features: sulfur-containing compounds (onion odor) • Special uses: onion, garlic, leek, shallots, chives, used as food & seasonings; ornamentals • Required family

35. Alliaceae - Allium

36. Alliaceae Economic plants and products: • Allium species – • onions, leeks, garlic! Ornamentals

37. “Petaloid” Monocots—Asparagales: Iridaceae(The Iris Family) • Widespread in tropical and subtropical regions; absent in Australia. • Perennial herbs forming rhizomes, corms, or bulbs • Number of species: ca. 1,750 species, 67 genera • Flowers: radial or bilateral, showy; tepals 6, outer tepals often differentiated from inner; stamens (2) 3, opposite outer tepals; carpels 3, fused into an inferior ovary; fruit a loculicidal capsule • Significant features: leaves unifacial or terete, equitant • Special uses: many ornamentals; saffron (Crocus sativus) • Required family

38. Perennating structures Equitant leaves Stamen position opposite outer tepals Iridaceae characters

39. Iridaceae diversity

40. Iris (Greek for rainbow) -style branches broad, petaloid, terminating in paired crests -anthers appressed to style branches

41. Iris in wetland habitats

42. “Petaloid” Monocots—Asparagales: Orchidaceae(The Orchid Family) • Widespread throughout the world; maximal diversity in tropical regions • Primarily epiphytes; some terrestrial herbs, occasionally vines • Diversity: ca. 20,000 species in 700-800 genera • Flowers: showy, usually resupinate, bilateral, the median inner tepal differentiated into a labellum (lip); highly modified androecial and gynoecial parts, fused into a column; pollen grouped into soft or hard masses (pollinia) united by a stalk into a pollinarium; ovary inferior; placentation parietal; fruit a capsule dehiscing with (1-)3 or 6 slits; seeds tiny, dust-like • Significant features: among the most specialized of all angiosperm flowers • Special uses: many ornamentals; Vanilla • Required family

43. Orchid growth habits Epiphytic Terrestrial

44. Orchid roots velamen

45. Orchid flower morphology see Digital Flowers

46. Orchidaceae pollinarium • Pollination • function of column & pollinia

47. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmgKABRCZpo&feature=related Richard Dawkins talking about orchid pollination

48. Comet Orchid (Angraecum sesquipedale)

49. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMVN1EWxfAU Morgan’s Sphinx Moth Endemic to Madagascar

50. Asparagales: Orchidaceae Economic plants and products: Vanilla flavoring extracted from immature capsules of Vanilla planifolia