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Beech family🌳
Fagaceae
ブナ科
A family including beech, oak, chestnut, and chinquapin. Major components of deciduous broadleaf forests in the Northern Hemisphere temperate zone. Known for producing acorns (nuts). Plays a central role in satoyama (traditional rural) ecosystems.
Key Characteristics
- ●Fruit is a nut (acorn) enclosed in a cupule
- ●Leaves simple, alternate
- ●Wind-pollinated (flowers small and inconspicuous)
- ●Monoecious
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Pinnate
Leaf margin
Entire
Growth form
Shrub / Tree
Evergreen/Deciduous
Evergreen / Deciduous
Leaf dissection
Dissected / Undivided
Stipules
Present
Petal count
4 petals
Ovary position
Inferior
Stamen count
3-4
Plant sex
Dioecious / Monoecious
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Fagales > Fagaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous (approx. 90 million years ago onward)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Evolution of animal dispersal via acorns
- ・Formation of deciduous forests in the Northern Hemisphere