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Musaceae
Musaceae is a family of flowering plants composed of three genera with about 91 known species, placed in the order Zingiberales. The family is native to the tropics of Africa and Asia. The plants have a large herbaceous growth habit with leaves with overlapping basal sheaths that form a pseudostem making some members appear to be woody trees. In most treatments, the family has three genera, ''Musa'', '' Musella'' and ''Ensete''. Cultivated bananas are commercially important members of the family, and many others are grown as ornamental plants. Taxonomy The family has been practically universally recognized by taxonomists, although with differing circumscriptions. Older circumscriptions of the family commonly included the genera now included in Heliconiaceae and Strelitziaceae. The APG III system, of 2009 (unchanged from the APG system, 1998), assigns Musaceae to the order Zingiberales in the clade commelinids in the monocots. The oldest fossil evidence of the family is though ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zingiberales
The Zingiberales are flowering plants forming one of four orders in the commelinids clade of monocots, together with its sister order, Commelinales. The order includes 68 genera and 2,600 species. Zingiberales are a unique though morphologically diverse order that has been widely recognised as such over a long period of time. They are usually large herbaceous plants with rhizomatous root systems and lacking an aerial stem except when flowering. Flowers are usually large and showy, and the stamens are often modified ( staminodes) to also form colourful petal-like structures that attract pollinators. Zingiberales contain eight families that are informally considered as two groups, differing in the number of fertile stamens. A " banana group" of four families appeared first and were named on the basis of large banana-like leaves. Later, a more genetically coherent (monophyletic) "ginger group" appeared, consisting of the remaining four families. The order, which has a fossil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |