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Heath family🌸
Ericaceae Juss.
ツツジ科
A large family under APG IV incorporating former Empetraceae and other groups, comprising about 4,000 species. In Japan, diverse species of Rhododendron (azaleas and rhododendrons), Vaccinium (blueberry, lingonberry), Pieris, and others are native or cultivated. Many species form ericoid mycorrhizae for adaptation to nutrient-poor environments.
Key Characteristics
- ●Leaves are simple, alternate, entire or serrate, often coriaceous
- ●Corolla is sympetalous, campanulate to urceolate, 5-lobed
- ●Anthers release pollen through apical pores (poricidal dehiscence)
- ●Many species form ericoid mycorrhizae
- ●Fruit types are diverse: berries, drupes, or capsules
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate / Whorled
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Pinnate / Palmate
Leaf margin
Entire
Growth form
Shrub / Tree / Vine
Evergreen/Deciduous
Evergreen / Deciduous
Leaf dissection
Undivided
Stipules
Absent
Aromatic
Aromatic / None
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic / Zygomorphic
Petal count
Many
Petal fusion
Fused
Ovary position
Superior / Inferior / Half-inferior
Stamen count
3-4
Plant sex
Dioecious / Hermaphrodite
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core Eudicots > Ericales > Ericaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous (ca. 80 million years ago)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Evolution of poricidal anthers (buzz pollination)
- ・Adaptation to nutrient-poor acidic soils through ericoid mycorrhizal symbiosis
- ・Large-scale family consolidation and reorganization under APG IV
Plants in Heath family on this site
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