ROSACEAE The Rose Family

 
 

The Rosaceae are characterized by:


 

  • being woody
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  • the presence of stipules
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  • pentamerous flowers
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  • well-developed accessory tissues, such as a hypanthium, which forms the fleshy part of the apple, or a floral receptacle, which forms the fleshy part of the strawberry
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  • the near absence of endosperm in the seeds
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                                                                                       CLICK for a more detailed character description.

The Rosaceae is a large, mostly temperate family of about 115 genera and 3200 species.  The family is of considerable economic importance in temperate regions.  This is especially true of its fruit-producing members, which include apple (Malus); pear (Pyrus); cherry, plum, peach, nectarine, apricot, and almond (species of Prunus); blackberry, and raspberry (species of Rubus); strawberry (Fragaria); loquat (Eriobotrya); and quince (Cydonia).  Some of our most popular flowering ornamentals are also in this family, the most famous of which is probably the rose (Rosa).  Many commonly planted trees in this family include flowering cherry (Prunus), pear (Pyrus), and crabapple (Malus); hawthorn (Crataegus), and mountain ash (Sorbus).  A number of shrubs are also cultivated, such as spiraea (Spiraea), shrubby cinquefoil (Potentilla), and firethorn (Pyracantha). 

There are four subfamilies within the Rosaceae that are generally recognized.  While these may not be monophyletic, they are used as a convenient way to summarize the diversity in position and merosity of the gynoecium and fruit type within the family. 

 

 

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 Site created and maintained by Matthew Willmann and Melissa Luckow Cornell University, Ithaca, New York September 1998