Monocots II

Sedges have edgesRushes are round

Grasses have nodes from the top to the ground

General flowers

Juncaceae - Rush family

• Perennial herbs

• Spiral, sheathing leaves

• Trimerous flowers

• Actinomorphic flowers

• Loculicidal capsule

• 7 genera / 430 species

P 3+3 [2+2 or 3] A 3+3 [3+0 or 2] G (3), superior, hypanthium absent

Juncus acutus

Juncus bufonius

Juncus dubius

Juncus dubius

Juncus phaeocephalus

Cyperaceae – Sedge Family

• Sedges have edges• BUT, Scripus (Bulrush) has very

round stems• Bristles or hairs in place of sepals

and petals• Fruit is an achene or a nutlet and

lens-shaped or triangular• 90 genera and 4000 species

Cyperaceae

Cyperaceae

Cyperus papyrus - papyrus

Eleocharis dulcis – water chestnut

Poaceae - Grass family

• Hollow-pithed stems

• Open-sheathed, distichous leaves

• Ligule may be present at inner junction with blade

• Grass spikelet

• = axis + two basal glumes + 1-∞ florets

• Floret = short lateral axis + lemma + palea + flower

• Fruit is a caryopsis (grain).

• 668 genera / 9,500 species

P 2-3 lodicules A 2-3 (pendulous) G (2-3)

1) Agricultural grains (most important food in world):

barley (Hordeum)

corn (Zea)

oats (Avena)

rice (Oryza)

rye (Secale)

wheat (Triticum);

2) forage and grazing plants;

3) important components of many ecosystems, such as grasslands and savannahs.

Economic Importance

distichousleaf

arrangement

open sheath

ligule

Bambusa spp. - Bamboo

Fruit is a caryopsis

Achnatherum coronatum

Agrostis pallens

Arundo donax Invasive

Avena barbata

Avena fatua – Wild Oats

Bromus tectorum – Cheatgrass Invasive

Cortaderia selloana – Pampas Grass

Cynodon dactylonBermuda Grass