Magnoliaceae
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Magnoliaceae |
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Distribution: Warm temperate widespread, but especially in SE US
and E Asia.
Economic
Uses: As ornamentals and lumber( Liriodendron)
and also as a source of ethereal oils used in perfumes.
Defining
Features of Interest: The group comprises
one of the oldest known plant families. The seed is large and
suspended on a funiculus w/in the dehiscent fruits. Many of the
features described below have been thought to represent the most
'primative' condition of the angiosperm flower.
Fossil Evidence: Wood from
the Upper Cretaceaous and Tertiary.
Floral Features : Actinomorphic, perfect, large and showy. Inflorescence a solitary flower. Hypogynous. Calyx and corolla often as undifferentiated tepals. Carpels of the gyneocium are free and not fused.
Fruit and Seed Features : A follicle, samara or berry (rare). Placentation parietal. Seed is large.
Vegetative Features
: Shrubs or trees. Leaves simple and alternate. Sometimes evergreen.
Stipules are present, often forming an ocrea.
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