Malvaceae & Euphorbiaceae characteristics and plants list
Malvaceae
Cronquist put the family
Malvaceae under the order Malvales, sub-class Dilleniidae and the class Magnoliopsida
characteristics:
| Habitat | herbs or shrubs with watery mucilage |
| Stem | with stellate hairs shaped |
| Leaves | alternate, simple with free lateral stipules |
| Inflorescence | cymose |
| Flower | actinomorphic, bisexual, pentamerous, hypogynous. Calyx- sepals 5, gamosepalous often with epicalyx Corolla- petals 5, polypetalous, adnate below to a staminal column, twisted. |
| Androecium | stamens many, United in bundle, monadelphous, epipetalous, anther celled reniform, Extrorse, pollen grains large, and spiney. |
| Gynoecium | carpel 5 to many, syncarpous, ovary superior, style one, pushing through a hollow staminal column and divided at the top into as many branches as there are carpels, each branch ending into a stigma, placentation axile. |
| Fruit | capsule or schizocarpic capsule. |
Plants list (Economically important plants)
| Name | Gossypium herbaceum |
| Parts | seed coat |
| Uses | the cotton fiber of commerce |
| Name | Hibiscus cannabinus |
| Parts | stem |
| Uses | fiber substitute for jute |
| Name | Abelmoschus esculentus |
| Parts | fruit |
| Uses | vegetable |
| Names | Hibiscus hirsutum |
| Parts | cottonseed |
| Uses | the oil that is hydrogenated to vanaspati |
| Tree members | Thespesia populnea Hibiscus tiliaceus |
| Woody herb | Abutilon hirtum |
Malvaceae & Euphorbiaceae characteristics and plants list
Euphorbiaceae
Systematic position
Bentham and Hooker placed the Euphorbiaceae as a natural order under the series unisexuales subclass monochlamydae and the class dicotyledons.
Characteristics
| Plant | herbs, shrubs, or trees with milky and watery latex |
| Leaves | alternate or opposite, simple, stipulate |
| Inflorescence | raceme and spike, cymose, panicle or cyathium |
| Flower | unisexual, incomplete, actinomorphic |
| Perianth | 5 in number, sepaloid, much reduced, free or partially connate |
| Androecium | the stamen in male flower one to numerous |
| Gynoecium | in female flowers carpels 3, syncarpous, ovary superior, 3 chambered; ovules pendulous with a ventral raphe, style 3, stigma 3 or 6; placentation axile. |
| Fruit | sehizocarpic capsule |
| Seed | Albuminous, carunculate. |
| Caruncle | a fleshy structure attached to the seeds helps in dispersal by ants. ( Lipid or protein ) |
Plants list (Economically important plant)
| Plant | Hevea brasiliensis |
| Parts | latex |
| Uses | rubber ( para rubber ) |
| Plant | Manihot glaziovii |
| Parts | latex |
| Uses | rubber |
| Plant | Emblica officinalis |
| Part | fruit |
| Uses | medicine |
| Plants | Ricinus communis |
| Parts | seed |
| Uses | castor oil |
| Plants | Manihot esculanta |
| Parts | tuberous root |
| Uses | the source of starch (tapioca used as food) |
| Herbs | Iragia sp. Acalypha indica |
| Shrubs | Ricinus communis Jatropha gossypiifolia |
