The Morton Arboretum's Naturalist Certificate Program
Plant Families of the Midwest   - Winter 2001

Back to Courses
Magnoliopsida Part 1: a comparison of dicot families.
This page has comparison of floral formulas.

The following link is to the site that I am using for lectures.
BOTANY 301 - TAXONOMY OF FLOWERING PLANTS
This page is the index to the following pages for each Subclass which then link to the families, or you can link directly to the family pages from here if you don't want to read about the SubClasses.

Below are the links for each family and the floral formulas. CA = Calyx, CO = Corolla, A = Androecium, G = Gynoecium. A line below the G = Hypogynous flower (ovary superior); a line above the G = Epigynous flower (ovary inferior). A circle around a number means the parts are fused. A half circle or curve below something means partial or basal fusion of those parts. Z = Zygomorphic. The infinity symbol (sideways 8) means numerous parts.

Magnoliopsida

Magnoliidae

Magnoliaceae - the Magnolia Family
Magnoliaceae
     Calyx and Corolla not differentiated (so here they are counted together)


Ranunculaceae - the Buttercup Family
Ranunculaceae


Nymphaeaceae - the Water Lily Family
Nymphaceae


Papaveraceae - the Poppy Family
Papaveraceae
Flower often large and showy with crumpled petals, ovary a unilocular compound pistil


Caryophyllidae

Caryophyllaceae - the Pink Family
Caryophyllaceae


Chenopodiaceae - the Goosefoot Family
Chenopodiaceae


Polygonaceae - the Buckwheat Family or Knotweed Family
Polygonaceae

Patrick R. Leacock
Education Program Developer / Research Scientist (Biology)
Department of Botany, The Field Museum, Chicago, IL 60605-2496
E-mail: pleacock@fieldmuseum.org