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Commelinanae

William J. Hahn
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PontederiaPhragmites australisTillandsia usneoides
taxon links [down<--]Monocotyledons Interpreting the tree
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This tree diagram shows the relationships between several groups of organisms.

The root of the current tree connects the organisms featured in this tree to their containing group and the rest of the Tree of Life. The basal branching point in the tree represents the ancestor of the other groups in the tree. This ancestor diversified over time into several descendent subgroups, which are represented as internal nodes and terminal taxa to the right.

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Containing group: Monocotyledons

Introduction

The Commelinanae includes the grasses, sedges, bromeliads, and relatives. This superorder includes approximately 25 families, 1075 genera, and 24000 species.

Characteristics

The Commelinanae are characterized by scrobiculate pollen with operculate apertures and orthotropous ovules, girdle-like endothecial thickenings of the anthers, annulate pollen apertures, and apical placentation (Linder and Kellogg, 1993).

References

Linder, HP & EA Kellogg. 1995. Phylogenetic patterns in the commelinid clade. pp 473-496 in: PJ Rudall, PJ Cribb, DF Cutler & CJ Humphries (eds.). Monocotyledons: systematics and evolution. Royal Botanic Garden, Kew.

Title Illustrations
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Pontederia
Scientific Name Pontederia
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © 1997
Phragmites australis
Scientific Name Phragmites australis (Cav.) Steudel
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © 1997
Tillandsia usneoides
Scientific Name Tillandsia usneoides L.
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © 1997
About This Page


Georgetown University, Washington, D. C., USA

Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to William J. Hahn at

Page: Tree of Life Commelinanae. Authored by William J. Hahn. The TEXT of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0. Note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own license, and they may or may not be available for reuse. Click on an image or a media link to access the media data window, which provides the relevant licensing information. For the general terms and conditions of ToL material reuse and redistribution, please see the Tree of Life Copyright Policies.

Citing this page:

Hahn, William J. 1997. Commelinanae. Version 01 January 1997 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Commelinanae/21340/1997.01.01 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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This page is a Tree of Life Branch Page.

Each ToL branch page provides a synopsis of the characteristics of a group of organisms representing a branch of the Tree of Life. The major distinction between a branch and a leaf of the Tree of Life is that each branch can be further subdivided into descendent branches, that is, subgroups representing distinct genetic lineages.

For a more detailed explanation of the different ToL page types, have a look at the Structure of the Tree of Life page.

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