Lab. ROSIDS (Rosaceae, Moraceae, Malvaceae, Curcubitaceae, Fabaceae, Fagaceae, Euphorbiaceae)

Lab. ROSIDS
(Rosaceae, Moraceae, Malvaceae, Curcubitaceae, Fabaceae, Fagaceae, Euphorbiaceae)
ROSACEAE
Woody plants with toothed, simple leaves, or herbs with toothed, trifoliate leaves; flowers regular with 5
clawed petals, 10 or more stamens, and hypanthium well developed; fruit various, but derived from
multiple free or fused carpels.
1. Examine the flowers of the Rosaceae specimens. Draw and label the floral parts.
2. Rosa represents an example of the large, primitive subfamily Rosoideae. Vegetatively, the Rosaceae are
defined by alternate, compound leaves with large stipules — find these
FABACEAE
Woody or herbaceous plants with compound (rarely simple) leaves, entire (rarely toothed) leaflets, and
pulvini at ends of petioles and petiolules; flowers irregular (regular) with 5 (not clawed), 10 stamens, and
hypanthium; fruit a legume, derived from the 1 carpel of the flower.
More info about flowers:
Flowers Faboid‐type, Mimosoid‐type, or Caesalpinioid‐type.
Papilionoideae: Bilateral flowers with the petals arranged into banner (top petal), wings (the two side
petals) and keel (the two lowest petals with are connivant into a boat-shaped structure). In bud, the
banner encloses all the other petals. Stamens usually 10, sometimes all fused in tube around the pistil, or
9 fused and 1 free. This subfamily contains all but 12 of the CA genera.
Caesalpinoideae: Bilateral flowers with the petals arranged into an upper petal (sometimes called a
banner), 2 upper or side lateral petals (sometimes called wings), and two lower petals (not connivant, but
forming a keel-like structure in Cercis). In bud, the upper petal is inside all the other petals. Stamens are
usually 10, usually free. This subfamily contains 6 of the California genera.
Mimosoideae: Radial flowers with many free, showy stamens. This has the remaining 6 genera.
1. Examine the flowers of the specimens. Draw and label the floral parts.


CUCURBITACEAE
Squash/Melon Family
Typically herbaceous, many are "climbers"; leaves alternate and spiral, usually simple, often
palmately lobed; leaves palmately veined and are usually associated with a tendril (usually branched),

possibly derived from a modified shoot; stipules lacking; flowers almost always unisexual, with a
hypanthium; calyx composed of 5 sepals; corolla composed of 5 petals, more or less united at the base;
stamens 5, which may be either distinct or fused to varying degrees, adnate to hypanthium; ovary inferior
composed of between two and five fused carpels; ovary with (usually) a single locule; fruit generally a
berry or pepo.

1. Examine the flowers of the specimens. Draw and label the floral parts.


FAGACEAE – Oak or Beech Family
Tress and shrubs, deciduous or evergreen; leaves simple but often lobed, alternate, entire to serrate;
stipules present but deciduous; flowers generally unisexual, monoecious, males usually arranged in
catkins or small spikes, females in groups of 1-3 inside a scaly cupule; perianth reduced to a series of
bract-like segments; stamens variable; ovary inferior ovary composed of three to six fused carpels; three
to six styles present; fruit is an acorn (or similar), a single-seeded nut usually surrounded by a
cupule (involucre).
1. Observe the specimens and draw its leaf, spikes and nut with cupule.


MALVACEAE – Mallow Family
Herbs, trees or shrubs; leaves simple and alternate, often palmately lobed, most have stellate hairs;
stipules present; flowers regular and bisexual; calyx composed 5 sepals which may be fused or distinct
(petaloid in Sterculiaceae), often subtended by an epicalyx; corolla composed of 5 petals, free (absent in
Sterculiaceae); stamens numerous and fused at their base to form a typically conspicuous tube (i.e.
monadelphus stamens); staminodes often present; nectaries present, typically in the form of
glandular hairs on sepals; ovary superior composed of (usually) five (sometimes more) fused carpels; a
single style is present and is branched; fruit usually a capsule.
1. Observe the specimens and draw its leaf, flower.

EUPHORBIACEAE

the Spurge family
Euphorbiaceae are known for producing poisonous, thick white latex. They are often associated with xeric
environments and fill a similar ecological niche as cacti of the New World.


Stem a little climbing, branching, up to more than two meters. Stems gray coarse spines, oval leaves, old
leaves fall off. Flowers small, into the front to generate small clusters, each flower cluster together into
dichotomous cymose inflorescence. Outside of the two pink bracts, flowers small. Bracts yellow, dark red.

•

b Bract

•

i Involucre

•

g Gland

•

ag Appendage of the gland

•

bo Bracteole

•

mf Male flower

•

jmf Juvenile male flower

•

a Anthere

•

pmf Pedicel of the male flower


•

ff Female flower

•

o Ovary

•

s Style

•

pff Pedicel of the female flower

1. Observe the specimens of Euphorbia milii and draw its inflorescence .