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Trochodendron family
Trochodendraceae
ヤマグルマ科
A small family comprising just two species: Trochodendron aralioides and Tetracentron sinense. Distributed in East Asia as evergreen or deciduous trees. Uniquely primitive among angiosperms in lacking vessels, transporting water through tracheids only.
Key Characteristics
- ●Lacking vessels, transporting water via tracheids (exceptional among angiosperms)
- ●Flowers bisexual or polygamous, apetalous
- ●Evergreen or deciduous trees
- ●Leaves simple, clustered in pseudo-whorls at branch tips
- ●Fruits are aggregate fruits of numerous carpels
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
Serrate
Growth form
Tree
Evergreen/Deciduous
Evergreen
Leaf dissection
Undivided
Stipules
Absent
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Petal fusion
Free
Ovary position
Half-inferior
Plant sex
Dioecious
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Basal eudicots > Trochodendrales > Trochodendraceae
Divergence Era
Early Cretaceous (approx. 120 million years ago)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Retention of primitive vesselless wood among angiosperms
- ・Restriction of distribution to East Asia (migration from Gondwanan origins to the Northern Hemisphere)
Plants in Trochodendron family on this site
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