Plantaginaceae
Encyclopedia
Plantaginaceae Juss. or plantain family, are a family
of flowering plants in the order
Lamiales
. The type genus is Plantago
L.
.
In older classifications it used to be the only family of the order Plantaginales, but numerous phylogenetic studies, summarized by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group
, have demonstrated that this taxon should be included within the Lamiales.
The plantain family as traditionally circumscribed consisted of only three genera, Bougueria, Littorella
, and Plantago
. However, new phylogenetic research has indicated that Plantaginaceae s.s. (s.s. = sensu stricto, in the strict sense) were nested within Scrophulariaceae
(but forming a group that did not include the type genus of that family, Scrophularia
). Although Veronicaceae (1782) is the oldest family name for this group, Plantaginaceae (1789) is a conserved name under the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN) and thus has priority over any earlier family name for a family including Plantago
. Furthermore, the ICBN does not consider family names published before 1789 to be names eligible for conservation, thus ruling out Veronicaceae. The name Antirrhinaceae has been proposed for conservation over Plantaginaceae. In the meantime, the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group has accepted the name Plantaginaceae. However, Olmstead (2003) has chosen to use the name Veronicaceae.
The Plantaginaceae s.l. (s.l. = sensu lato, in the broad sense) are a most diverse, cosmopolitan family, occurring mostly in temperate zones. It consists of herb
s, shrub
s and also a few aquatic plant
s with root
s (such as the genus Callitriche). Being so diverse, the circumscription of this family is difficult to establish.
The leaves
are spiral to opposite and simple to compound. Unusual in Lamiales is the absence of vertical partitions in the heads of the gland
ular hairs.
The structure and form of the flowers can be very variable. Some genera are 4-merous (i.e. with 4 sepal
s and 4 petal
s), such as Aragoa (but this one has 5 sepals); others are 5-8-merous, such as Sibthorpia. The flower
s of most genera are polysymmetric. The corolla is often two-lipped. In some taxa, the androecium is formed before the corolla.
The fruit
is a capsule
that dehisces through the partitions between the cells. In Veronica this partition is in the length; in species of Antirrhineae the dehiscence releases the pollen
through the pores at the tip of the anther; or it may come about through a transverse circular line around the capsule.
A group of genera including Lindernia has recently been segregated
as the family Linderniaceae
, and recognized by Haston et al. 2007, (also known as LAPG II) as "Post-APG II family".
except where otherwise stated.
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
of flowering plants in the order
Order (biology)
In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
Lamiales
Lamiales
Lamiales is an order in the asterid group of dicotyledonous flowering plants. It includes approximately 11,000 species divided into about 20 families...
. The type genus is Plantago
Plantago
Plantago is a genus of about 200 species of small, inconspicuous plants commonly called plantains. They share this name with the very dissimilar plantain, a kind of banana. Most are herbaceous plants, though a few are subshrubs growing to 60 cm tall. The leaves are sessile, but have a narrow...
L.
Carolus Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
.
In older classifications it used to be the only family of the order Plantaginales, but numerous phylogenetic studies, summarized by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group
Angiosperm Phylogeny Group
The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, or APG, refers to an informal international group of systematic botanists who came together to try to establish a consensus on the taxonomy of flowering plants that would reflect new knowledge about plant relationships discovered through phylogenetic studies., three...
, have demonstrated that this taxon should be included within the Lamiales.
The plantain family as traditionally circumscribed consisted of only three genera, Bougueria, Littorella
Littorella
Littorella is a genus of two to three species of aquatic plants. Many plants live their entire lives submersed, and reproduce by stolons, but some are only underwater for part of the year, and flower when they are not underwater.- Classification :...
, and Plantago
Plantago
Plantago is a genus of about 200 species of small, inconspicuous plants commonly called plantains. They share this name with the very dissimilar plantain, a kind of banana. Most are herbaceous plants, though a few are subshrubs growing to 60 cm tall. The leaves are sessile, but have a narrow...
. However, new phylogenetic research has indicated that Plantaginaceae s.s. (s.s. = sensu stricto, in the strict sense) were nested within Scrophulariaceae
Scrophulariaceae
Scrophulariaceae, the figwort family, are a family of flowering plants. The plants are annual or perennial herbs with flowers with bilateral or rarely radial symmetry. Members of the Scrophulariaceae have a cosmopolitan distribution, with the majority found in temperate areas, including...
(but forming a group that did not include the type genus of that family, Scrophularia
Scrophularia
The genus Scrophularia of the family Scrophulariaceae comprises about 200 species of herbaceous flowering plants commonly known as figworts. Species of Scrophularia all share square stems, opposite leaves and open two-lipped flowers forming clusters at the end of their stems...
). Although Veronicaceae (1782) is the oldest family name for this group, Plantaginaceae (1789) is a conserved name under the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN) and thus has priority over any earlier family name for a family including Plantago
Plantago
Plantago is a genus of about 200 species of small, inconspicuous plants commonly called plantains. They share this name with the very dissimilar plantain, a kind of banana. Most are herbaceous plants, though a few are subshrubs growing to 60 cm tall. The leaves are sessile, but have a narrow...
. Furthermore, the ICBN does not consider family names published before 1789 to be names eligible for conservation, thus ruling out Veronicaceae. The name Antirrhinaceae has been proposed for conservation over Plantaginaceae. In the meantime, the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group has accepted the name Plantaginaceae. However, Olmstead (2003) has chosen to use the name Veronicaceae.
The Plantaginaceae s.l. (s.l. = sensu lato, in the broad sense) are a most diverse, cosmopolitan family, occurring mostly in temperate zones. It consists of herb
Herb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
s, shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s and also a few aquatic plant
Aquatic plant
Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments. They are also referred to as hydrophytes or aquatic macrophytes. These plants require special adaptations for living submerged in water, or at the water's surface. Aquatic plants can only grow in water or in soil that is...
s with root
Root
In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial or aerating . Furthermore, a stem normally occurring below ground is not exceptional either...
s (such as the genus Callitriche). Being so diverse, the circumscription of this family is difficult to establish.
The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are spiral to opposite and simple to compound. Unusual in Lamiales is the absence of vertical partitions in the heads of the gland
Gland
A gland is an organ in an animal's body that synthesizes a substance for release of substances such as hormones or breast milk, often into the bloodstream or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface .- Types :...
ular hairs.
The structure and form of the flowers can be very variable. Some genera are 4-merous (i.e. with 4 sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s and 4 petal
Petal
Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They often are brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. Together, all of the petals of a flower are called a corolla. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying...
s), such as Aragoa (but this one has 5 sepals); others are 5-8-merous, such as Sibthorpia. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s of most genera are polysymmetric. The corolla is often two-lipped. In some taxa, the androecium is formed before the corolla.
The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a capsule
Capsule (fruit)
In botany a capsule is a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. A capsule is a structure composed of two or more carpels that in most cases is dehiscent, i.e. at maturity, it splits apart to release the seeds within. A few capsules are indehiscent, for example...
that dehisces through the partitions between the cells. In Veronica this partition is in the length; in species of Antirrhineae the dehiscence releases the pollen
Pollen
Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
through the pores at the tip of the anther; or it may come about through a transverse circular line around the capsule.
A group of genera including Lindernia has recently been segregated
Segregate (taxonomy)
In taxonomy, a segregate, or a segregate taxon is created when a taxon is split off, from another taxon. This other taxon will be better known, usually bigger, and will continue to exist, even after the segregate taxon has been split off...
as the family Linderniaceae
Linderniaceae
The Linderniaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales, which consists of about 13 genera and 195 species from worldwide, mainly in neotropics....
, and recognized by Haston et al. 2007, (also known as LAPG II) as "Post-APG II family".
Genera
The enlarged Plantaginaceae s.l. / Veronicaceae consists of 90 genera and about 1,700 species. The largest genus is Veronica with about 450 species. Veronica also includes the genera Hebe, Parahebe and Synthyris, formerly often treated as distinct. All genera of Plantaginaceae were formerly included in ScrophulariaceaeScrophulariaceae
Scrophulariaceae, the figwort family, are a family of flowering plants. The plants are annual or perennial herbs with flowers with bilateral or rarely radial symmetry. Members of the Scrophulariaceae have a cosmopolitan distribution, with the majority found in temperate areas, including...
except where otherwise stated.
Tribe Angelonieae
Tribe Antirrhineae
Tribe Callitricheae
|
Tribe Cheloneae
Tribe Digitalideae
Tribe Globularieae
Tribe Gratioleae
|
Philcoxia Philcoxia is a genus of three rare plant species in the Plantaginaceae that are endemic to Brazil and resemble terrestrial species of the genus Utricularia. The genus, formally described in 2000, consists of the species P. bahiensis, P. goiasensis, and P. minensis, each named for the Brazilian... P.Taylor & V.C.Souza Stemodia Stemodia is a genus of flowering plants in the plantain family, Plantaginaceae. The roughly 20 species it contains are commonly known as twintips. They are found across the tropical Americas and into the subtropics. These perennials have toothed leaves and racemes of colorful flowers which are... L. Tribe Hemiphragmeae
Tribe Plantagineae
Tribe Russelieae
Tribe Sipthorpieae
Tribe Veroniceae
|
Excluded genera
|
Lindenbergia Lindenbergia is a genus of herbaceous plants in family Orobanchaceae. It contains 12 species found in Africa and Asia, and is most abundant in India.It is named in honor of Johann Bernhard Wilhelm Lindenberg, a lawyer and bryologist from Germany.... Lehm. → Orobanchaceae Orobanchaceae Orobanchaceae, the broomrape family, is a family of flowering plants of the order Lamiales, with about 90 genera and more than 2000 species. Many of these genera were formerly included in the family Scrophulariaceae sensu lato... Rehmannia Rehmannia is a genus of six species of flowering plants in the order Lamiales, endemic to China.The genus was included in the family Scrophulariaceae or Gesneriaceae in some older classifications. The current placement of the genus is in neither Scrophulariaceae s.s. nor Plantaginaceae s.l.... Libosch. ex Fisch. & C.A.Mey. → Orobanchaceae Torenia Torenia is a genus of plants in the snapdragon family, Scrophulariaceae or also classified in Linderniaceae by some authors. Often called Wishbone flowers, some species are grown as garden plants. Many F1 and F2 Torenia hybrids have been hybridizied in the last 30 years. Colors can range from white... L. → Linderniaceae |