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Protea family
Proteaceae
ヤマモガシ科
A large family of about 80 genera and 1,600 species centered in the Southern Hemisphere (Australia, South Africa, South America). Helicia occurs naturally in southern Kyushu and Okinawa in Japan. An ancient Gondwanan family, with Protea and Banksia well known as ornamentals.
Key Characteristics
- ●Tepals 4, often fused into a tube
- ●Stamens 4, opposite the tepals
- ●Prominent adaptation to nutrient-poor soils (phosphorus-deficient environments)
- ●Proteoid roots (cluster roots) absorb nutrients from impoverished soils
- ●Predominantly woody
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 / Compound
Venation
Parallel / Pinnate / Palmate
Leaf margin
Serrate / Dentate / Entire / Crenate
Growth form
Shrub / Tree / Herb
Evergreen/Deciduous
Evergreen
Compound type
Pinnate / Ternate / Bipinnate / Palmate
Leaf dissection
Dissected / Undivided
Stipules
Absent
Aromatic
Aromatic / None
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic / Zygomorphic
Petal count
4 petals / 6 petals
Petal fusion
Free / Fused
Ovary position
Superior
Stamen count
3-4
Plant sex
Dioecious / Hermaphrodite / Monoecious
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Basal eudicots > Proteales > Proteaceae
Divergence Era
Early to Middle Cretaceous (approx. 115–100 million years ago)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Establishment of disjunct Southern Hemisphere distributions through the breakup of Gondwana
- ・Adaptive evolution of proteoid roots for nutrient acquisition in impoverished soils
Plants in Protea family on this site
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