Question

What are five key characteristics of the family Rosaceae?

Answer 1

Rosaceae, the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants, including 4,828 known species in 91 genera.

• Habit: The plants show great variation in habit. The plants may be annual (Neurada spp.) or perennial prostrate herb, scandent or climbing or erect (Rosa spp.), shrubs or trees. Cydonia species are bushes. Trees are common and many of them are our popular fruit trees e.g. Prunus amygdalus (H. Badam); Prunus persica (H. Aru);Pyrus communis (H. Naspati); Pyrus mains (H. Seb) etc.
• Root: Tap, branched sometimes adventitious arising from stem cuttings.
• Stem: Erect, prostrate or climber, branched, hard and woody, runner or sucker. Vegetative propagation takes place by means of runner or sucker or cuttings, many shrubby species are with spines, in some prickles are present (Rosa spp.).
• Leaves: Alternate rarely opposite (Rhodotypos), simple or compound sometimes pinnately compound, stipulate, stipule may be minute and caducous (Spiraea, Pyrus), adnate and persistent (Rosa, Rubus), leaf base conspicuous.
• Flowers: Flowers of plants in the rose family are generally described as "showy". They are actinomorphic (i.e. radially symmetrical) and almost always hermaphroditic. Rosaceae generally have five sepals, five petals, and many spirally arranged stamens. The bases of the sepals, petals, and stamens are fused together to form a characteristic cup-like structure called a hypanthium. They can be arranged in racemes, spikes, or heads; solitary flowers are rare.
• Calyx: 5 or 4 sepals: free. Sometimes, epicalyx of bracteoles is present
• Corolla: 5 or multiple of 5 petals; free; imbricate
• Fruits: Drupe. pome or an etaerio of drupes or achenes of follicles
• Seed: non-endospermic seed