Plant Families
Plant divisions and classes are divided into smaller categories. The next category we will consider is the plant family. A family is a group of plants that share similar characteristics. Plants that are in the same family are related to each other. Flower and fruit structures are particularly important, but other features such as foliage and growth habits are used to place each plant into a family.
California buckeye and common horsechestnut illustrated above are both in the family Hippocastanaceae. They share similar floral and foliar characteristics.
Because botanists put naturally related plants together into families, some of
them are easy to recognize. For example, pine trees are all in the same family,
the pine family. The pine family also includes Douglas fir, true firs, cedars,
spruce and others that share similar characteristics.
Families are named after one of the prominent members of that family. The pine family is called Pinaceae, the rose family is Rosaceae, the sunflower family is Asteraceae, etc. Notice that each family name ends in -aceae so that it's easy to recognize a family name when you see one. Being familiar with families can help you identify plants. For example, when you see a plant with a peapod, weather it is green vine or woody tree, you know that plant is in the pea family, Fabaceae.
STUDENT RESEARCH QUESTION:
16. Some families have two names; an older name and a newer name (the new name
ends
in -aceae). Find the new name for the following: family
Palmae, family Gramineae,
family Cruciferae, family Leguminosae, family Umbelliferae, family Labiatae
and
family Compositae
