Monocots 25 of flowering plants 11 orders Petaloid

Monocots 25% of flowering plants (11 orders) Petaloid Monocots

Poales

Juncaceae 6 -tepals 3 -ranked leaves Leaf sheath open Stem Solid, Round xsec.

Juncus dudleyi

Juncus balticus

Luzula, Juncaceae Note 6 tepals (dull-colored) 6 stamens 3 fused carpels, 3 stigma lobes

Cyperaceae Loss of tepals in male flowers Fruit= Achene Leaf Sheath Fused 3 -ranked leaves Perigynium Tepals reduced to bristels in female flowers

Cyperaceae Carex sp. Note female spiklets

Male Spikelet Female Spikelet Carex viridula

Male spikelet The perigynium a modified sac like bract surrounding the ovary or achene is a feature of the Cyperaceae. Note stigmas protruding from the top. Female Spikelet

Fig. 5. Silica body morphologies found in the Poales and Dasypogonaceae. A. Carex intermedia (Cyperaceae), lateral view of a conical silica body with tiny spines projecting near the base (bar = 10 μ). B. Abildgaardia monostachya (Cyperaceae), conical bodies with satellites in epidermis (bar = 10 μ). C. Juncus inflexus (Juncaceae), silica sand in bundle-sheath cells (bar = 20 μ). D. Juncus arabicus (Juncaceae), silica sand in vascular bundle-sheath cells (bar = 10 μ). E. Thamnochortus floribundus (Restionaceae), an irregular or granular form of silica observed in epidermal cells (bar = 10 μ). F. Anthochortus ecklonii (Restionaceae), spherical silica bodies overlying the sclerenchymatous bundle sheath (bar = 10 μ). G. Thurnia jenmanii (Thurniaceae), numerous small spherical/nodular bodies in epidermal cells (bar = 10 μ). H. Kingia australis (Dasypogonaceae), spherical silica bodies with a rugose surface in epidermal cells (bar = 10 μ). J. Dasypogon bromeliifolius (Dasypogonaceae), epidermal silica sand (bar = 20 μ).

Poaceae Special inflorescence &flower structure Ligule present and sheath not fused 2 -ranked leaves Fruit = caryopsis Round x-section & hollow stem

Note dominance of grasslands/savannahs ( ) and croplands ( ) which are mainly planted in grasses. Members of the Poaceae dominate the land surface.

The grasslands of East Africa.

The Savannah of East Africa

Artificial Grass Community

Braidwood Savannah and Dunes

Morton Prairie, Illinois

Most of our prairie has been converted to cropland.

Poaceae Special inflorescence &flower structure Ligule present and sheath not fused 2 -ranked leaves Fruit = caryopsis Round x-section & hollow stem

Poaceae Grass Flowers Anthers Stigmas (branched and feathery)

Top Yielding Crops in 1986 and 2001 (data from FAO) Crop Sugar Cane Corn Rice Wheat Potato Sugar Beet Soybean Manioc Sweet Potato Sorghum Banana/Plantains Grapes Tomatoes Oats Yield 1986 932 481 476 528 309 286 95 137 110 71 68 67 60 65 48 44 Yield 2001 1, 273 614 595 587 309 229 176 131 135 60 97 61

Wheat caryopsis, germ = embryo

Wheat Seeds - Endosperm and Embryo (Germ)

Stigmas Anthers

Fig. 6. Silica body morphologies found in the epidermal cells of Poaceae. Aristida setigera, dumbbell -shaped silica bodies (bar = 10 μ). B. Brachiaria jubata, a form of silica intermediate between the dumbbellshaped form and the cross -shaped form (bar = 10 μ). C. Apochiton burttii, crossshaped silica bodies (bar = 10 μ). D. Aegilops triaristata, a horizontally elongated silica body with sinuous outlines (bar = 10 μ). E. Anthochloa lepidula, horizontally elongated bodies with smooth outlines (bar = 20 μ). F. Astrebla squarrosa, saddle-shaped silica bodies (bar = 10 μ). G. Agropyron elongatum, a conical silica body (bar = 20 μ).

High-crowned mammoth molar from the permafrost sea cliff at Elephant Point, 1/2 mile south of Kotzebue, Alaska. (The scale is a penny). (Courtesy of the Inman Family)

Initial drafts of rice (Oryza sativa) genome reported in 2002: 2 sub species Indica - China and most of Asia Japonica- Japan and temperate areas

Shattering was a major problem in the domestication of grains.

sh 4 levels increase to higher levels in O. nivara sh 4 is expressed at the junction of the pedicel and the fruit. More force is required to pull away grains in O. sativa Sh 4 activity in Rice. Oryza sativa = cultivated rice (Li et al. 2006. Science 311: 1936 -39. ) Oryza nivara = ancestral rice

The cellulose synthase superfamily in rice. The Ces. A genes, Csl. A genes, and cereal-specific Csl. F genes encode enzymes (as indicated) that are required for the synthesis of cell wall constituents. Functions of other superfamily members are presently unknown. The alignment of deduced protein sequences was constructed with CLUSTAL W and the unrooted tree figure was drawn with Tree. View (11). [Figure based on the completed genome sequence of rice (www. prl. msu. edu/walton/CSL_updates. ht m)]
PHOTO CREDIT: CORBIS