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Primrose family🌸
Primulaceae Batsch ex Borkh.
サクラソウ科
An expanded family under APG IV incorporating Myrsinaceae and parts of other families. It includes diverse herbs such as Primula, Lysimachia, and Ardisia. In Japan, many species are native, including Primula sieboldii (endangered) and numerous others.
Key Characteristics
- ●Corolla is sympetalous and 5-lobed; stamens are opposite to corolla lobes (obdiplostemony is characteristic)
- ●Leaves are alternate, opposite, or whorled; many species have basal leaves
- ●Fruit is a capsule with axile or free-central placentation
- ●Some species (former Myrsinaceae) contain latex
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate / Opposite / Whorled
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Pinnate / Palmate
Leaf margin
Serrate / Dentate / Entire / Crenate
Growth form
Herb
Evergreen/Deciduous
Deciduous
Leaf dissection
Dissected / Undivided
Stipules
Absent
Latex
Present / Absent
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Petal count
6 petals
Ovary position
Superior / Half-inferior
Stamen count
3-4
Plant sex
Hermaphrodite
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core Eudicots > Ericales > Primulaceae
Divergence Era
Paleogene (ca. 50 million years ago)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Establishment of the distinctive arrangement of stamens opposite to corolla lobes
- ・Diverse adaptive radiation into alpine and wetland environments
- ・Enlargement of the family through APG IV merger with Myrsinaceae, Theophrastaceae, and others
Plants in Primrose family on this site
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