Aim Of The Experiment
To study and describe the three locally available common flowering plants one from each of the families Solanaceae, Fabaceae, Liliaceae(Poaceae, Asteraceae or Brassicaceae can be substituted for specific geographical location) along with dissection and exhibition of floral whorls, anther and ovary to show the number of chambers through floral whorls and diagrams, types of roots (tap and adventitious), stem(woods and herbaceous) and leaf(shape, arrangement, venation, compound and shape).
Family – Solanaceae
This family is referred to as the Nightshade family.
Petunia nyctanginifolia
| Habitat | Grown an ornamental herb, Annual. |
| Root | The root is branched. Tap-root system is observed |
| Stem | Branched, aerial, solid, green, erect, herbaceous, cylindrical, hairy |
| Leaf | Consecutive in basal part and opposing decussate in the upper part, simple, cauline and Ramal, sessile, stipulate, acute, ovate, hairy, entire, unicostate, reticulate. |
| Inflorescence | Axillary dichasial cyme, Cymose. |
| Flower | Hypogynous, pedicellate, bracteate, hermaphrodite, actinomorphic, regular, pentamerous, complete, cyclic, white or light violet in colour. |
| Calyx | 5 sepals, deeply lobes, green, gamosepalous, inferior, hairy, persistent |
| Corolla | 5 petals, white or light violet in colour, infundibuliform, valvate, gamopetalous, induplicate, inferior, pentafid |
| Gynoecium | 2 carpels (bicarpellary), superior, many ovules in each locule, stigma capitate, placenta swollen, syncarpous, bilocular, style long |
| Androecium | 5 stamens, epipetalous, polyandrous, filaments unequal, basifixed, introse |
| Fruit | Capsule |
| Floral formula | Br, ⊕⚥ K(5),C(overline{(5A)})5, G(2) |
Family – Papilionaceae (Fabaceae) Pea family
Pisum sativum
| Habitat | Cultivated, annual herb |
| Root | Presence of root nodules, branched, tap. |
| Stem | Smooth, glaucous, cylindrical, weak, herbaceous, branched, climb with the help of leaf tendrils. |
| Leaf | Compound, Cauline and Ramal, alternate, stipulate, imparipinnate, terminal leaflet forms a tendril, leaflets 4 to 6. |
| Inflorescence | Solitary arrangement of flowers or axillary racemes, racemose |
| Flower | White or pink, complete, zygomorphic, irregular, bracteate, pedicellate, hermaphrodite, papilionaceous, hypogynous |
| Calyx | Imbricate, 5 sepals, campanulate, gamosepalous |
| Corolla | White/pink, 5 petals (1 standard, 2 wings, 2 keels united, keels shorter than wings), Corolla papilionaceous, enclosed pistil and stamens, imbricate. |
| Gynoecium | 1 carpel, ovary superior, ovules many style bent and long, terminal, ovary hairy, stigma simple, unilocular, marginal placentation |
| Androecium | 10 stamens in 2 bundles (diadelphous–9+1–9 mixed at the base for the formation of a tube around the ovary, 1 is free), basifixed, dehiscence by longitudinal cleave, anthers bilobed |
| Seeds | Ground, uniform |
| Fruit | A legume (pod) |
| Floral formula | % ⊕⚥ K(5),C1 +2 +(2), A(9) +1, G1 |
Family – Liliaceae (Lily family)
Allium cepa
| Habitat | Cultivated, Herbs. |
| Root | The root is fibrous. |
| Stem | The stem is underground. Altered to disc-like and found enclosed by scale leaves to form a bulb. |
| Leaf | The leaves are simple. |
| Inflorescence | leaflets scape or Terminal umbel (The young inflorescence can be surrounded by 2-3 membranous bract) |
| Flower | White in colour, complete, pedicellate, actinomorphic, bracteate, hermaphrodite, hypogynous |
| Perianths | Imbricate, gamophyllous, 6 lobed, arranged in 2 whorls of 3 each |
| Gynoecium | Style short, tricarpellary, axile plantation, Superior ovary, stigma small, trilocular, 2 ovules/locule, syncarpous |
| Androecium | Polyandrous, anthers, 6 stamens arranged in 2 whorls of 3 each, epiphyllous, long, dorsifixed, introse |
| Seeds | Seeds are albuminous. |
| Fruit | Capsule/Berry/ |
| Floral formula | ⊕⚥P3+3A3+3G(3) or P(3+3) |
Viva Questions
Q.1. Define a flower.
A.1. For sexual reproduction in plants, a flower is a modified shoot in flowering plants.
Q.2. Typically, how many whorls does a flower possess?
A.2. Usually, a flower has four whorls.
Q.3. Name the four whorls of a flower.
A.3. The four whorls of a flower are:
- Corolla
- Calyx
- Androecium
- Gynoecium
Q.4. Name the essential whorls of a flower.
A.4. They are Gynoecium and Androecium.
Q.5. Define a complete flower.
A.5. A complete flower is a flower having all the four whorls.
Q.6. State the characteristics of a pea flower.
A.6. A pea plant is papilionaceous – 1 standard, two wings, two united keels.
Q.7. List ant two plants similar to Petunia.
A.7. The two plants similar to petunia are:
- Potato – Solanum tubersum
- Brinjal – S.melongena
Q.8. Name the inflorescence found in Petunia.
A.8. The type of inflorescence is cymose.
Q.9. What type of flower does Allium produce?
A.9. White in colour, hermaphrodite, complete, pedicellate, bracteate, actinomorphic, hypogynous.
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