MALVACEAE


            1. SYSTEMATIC POSITION:
            Bentham & Hooker
            Division: Phanerogames (Seed Plants)
                  Class: Dicotyledones
                          Sub-class: Polypetalae
                                  Series: Thalamiflorae
                                        Order: Malvales
                                               Family: Malvaceae
           
            2. MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS:
            Habit – Usually herbs, shrubs or trees, often mucilaginous.
            Leaves – Alternate, simple, stipules deciduous.
            Inflorescence – Solitary axillary or terminal.
            Flower – Bisexual, pentamerous, complete, actinomorphic, valvate to twisted, hypogynous, often showy.
            Calyx – Sepals 5, united, valvate.
            Corolla – Petals 5, adnate below at staminal tube, twisted.
            Androecium – Stamens many, united into a tube/bundle-monoadelphous, epipetalous, anther monothecous, reniform, extrose, pollen spinose.
            Gynoecium – Carpels 5 to many, syncarpous, ovary superior, multilocular, with one or more ovules in each locule, style 1 passing through the stamina tube, and divided at the top into as many branches as there are carpels, each branches ending into a stigma, placentation axile.
            Fruit – Capsule or schizocarpic.
            3. FLORAL FORMULA:  K(3-5), C5, Aα, G(5-10)
            4. COMPARATIVE SYSTEMATIC POSITION AND AFFINITIES:
            Engler & Prantl put this family together with Tiliaceae, Bombaceae, and Sterculiaceae in the order Malvales. Hutchinson placed this family in the monotypic order Malvales. Bentham & Hooker kept Malvaceae along with the Tiliaceae and Sterculiaceae in the order Malvales.
            Malvaceae is related to Tiliaceae and Sterculaceae in having mucilaginous sap, simple alternate and stipulate leaves. According to Bentham & Hooker, it differs from them by having monothecous anthers, monodelphous conditions and presence of involucres or epicalyx.

            5. ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE:
            1. The seed hairs of many species like Gossypium arboretum, G. hirsutum, G. Herbaceum, etc. form the cotton of commerce.
            2. Fibres are obtained from Abutilon spp., Sida rhomboida, Urena lobata, etc.
            3. The leavea of Hibiscus cannabinus serves as the source of edible greens.
            4. The seeds of Ablemoschus moschatus yield aromatic oil.
            5. The fruits of A. esculantus is used as vegetable.
            6. The plants with ornamental values are – Hibiscus rosa sinensis and H. mutabilis.

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