http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trWzDlRvv1M

But first, a review Nepenthes, a pitcher plant in the Caryophillid group

Rosids I

CrassulaceaeGrossulariaceae

OnagraceaeEuphorbiaceae

Rosids in general• Somewhat weakly supported• Hypanthium in a lot of groups• 18 orders• 114 families• 58,000 species• Over 1/3 of all dicots• Mostly apopetalous “separate petals”• Diverse group• Two major clades

Rosids I

• Very popular group in CO

• Economically important, many fruits

• We will study 14 families in this group

• Today, only four:– Crassulaceae– Grossulariaceae– Onagraceae– Euphorbiaceae

Crassulaceae

• Stone crop family• Most are SMALL SUCCULENTS• Regular, bisexual flowers• 1 or 2 times as many stamen as pistils• 3 or more simple pistils• 4 or 5 sepals• Sedum is a common species in Colorado• Family where Crassulacean Acid Metabolism

was first described• http://www.crassulaceae.com/

CAM

• Special metabolic pathway that helps plants live in hot, arid habitats

• Stomata open during the night to let in CO2

• The CO2 is fixed into an acid

• That acid then releases C into the Krebs cycle during the day when light is present

• Stomata are closed during the day

CAM at night

CAM during the day

Sedum lanceolatum - Stonecrop

Clementsia rhodantha – Queen’s Crown

Sedum rosea or Rhodiola integrifolia – King’s crown

Grossulariaceae

• Gooseberry family• Includes currants • Mostly shrubs with palmate leaves• Shiny berries with attached sepals• Regular bisexual flowers, but small (1/4 in)• Five united sepals• Five separate petals• Five stamen• Inferior or superior ovary• Only ONE genus!!! – Ribes arguably

Grossularia• Ecologically important

Ribes cereum – wax currant

Ribes cereum in fruit

Ribes lacustre – Prickly currant

Onagraceae

• Evening primrose family• FOUR-LOBED STIGMA• Four petals• Four sepals• Four (or 8) stamen• FOUR syncarpous (fused) carpels• INFERIOR OVARY• Capsule, berry, or drupe• Called evening primrose because

they generally open in the evening / late afternoon

Onagraceae

Onagraceae distribution

Onagraceae – Four lobed stigma

Onagraceae – Note the hypanthium

Onagraceae in cross-section

Oenothera caespitosa

Oenothera caespitosa

Onagraceae

• Fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium)• Abundant after fires• Adapted to fire via underground rhizomes that

sprout up after fire • Lightweight seeds and many of them• After a certain time, other species come up and

outcompete it via light interception• Worldwide• Low resistance to human trampeling

Chamerion angustifolium

Chamerion angustifolium

Euphorbiaceae

• Euphorb family• Spurge family• MILKY SAP• Many are succulent• Can lack sepals• Can lack petals• Carpels 1-20• Superior ovary• Fruit is a schizocarpic capsule

Euphorbiaceae

• Convergent evolution

• Many euphorbs occupy the same niches in Africa that many of our cacti do

• Euphorbia is the only genus of plants known to have all three metabolic pathways: C3, C4, and CAM

Euphorbiaceae

Euphorbiaceae - Distribution

Euphorbiaceae - Succulent

Euphorbiaceae – milky sap

Euphorbiaceae - flowers

Euphorbiaceae - Cyanthium

Poinsettia

Cassava or manioc is in this family

Roots of Manihot esculentahttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qtvhs0O2oJE