Monocoteldonae : One Seed-leaf Class

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Note: Key is under construction

• A: Plants with showy flowers (petals relatively large and colourful):
• B: Flowers regular 6 tepals (petals + sepals) and 6 stamens (male parts): Liliaceae (Lily Family)
• B: FLowers irregular: Orchidaceae (Orchid Family)
• A: Plants with non-showy flowers (petals small and green or absent):
• C: Graminoid (grass like), aquatic + non-aquatic plants:
• D: Plant stems have nodes (joints): Poaceae (Grass Family)
• D: Plant stems lacking nodes:
• E: Plant stem round: Junacaceae (Rush Family)
• E: Plant stem angular: Cyperaceae (Sedge Family)
• C: Aquatic plants, not grass like:
• F: Plant minute, thalus-like, flowers absent: Lemnaceae (Duckweed Family)
• F: Plant not thalus like, flowers in a spike:
• G: Plant flacid (not stiff) fully in water: Potamogetonaceae (Pondweed Family)
• G: Plants stiff and erect:
• H: Plants short, flowers prefect (bisexual) in spadix (spike with modified leaf surounding): Araceae (Arum Family)
• H: Plants taller than 1 meter, flowers imperfect (unisexual) male flowers above withering; female flowers below persistent: Typhaceae (Cattail Family) (1 sps. Typha latifolia)

Natural History:

The first angiosperms (flowering seed plants) appeared only 140 MYA. The Monocoteldonae Class branched off about 127MYA. Since then the monotocts have diversified greatly. One group of monocots informaly called the gramoids (grass like plants) evolved only 65MYA. Now the young graminoids are very diverse and are the dominant vegitation cover of about 30% of the earths surface. The Orchidaceae (orchid family) with its highly specialized relationships with pollinators are perhaps the most diverse and highly evolved plants on earth.