Stangeriaceae Temporal range: | |
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Stangeria eriopus in coastal lowland forest, South Africa | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
(unranked): | Gymnosperms |
Division: | Cycadophyta |
Class: | Cycadopsida |
Order: | Cycadales |
Suborder: | Zamiineae |
Family: | Stangeriaceae Schimp. & Schenk |
Genera | |
Stangeriaceae is the smallest family of the cycads, including only two extant genera, Stangeria and Bowenia.
Although the family was first published by Schimper and Schenk [1] as Stangerieae, the name Stangeriaceae was used by Johnson (who was unaware of previous uses) to include only the genus Stangeria. [2] Later, Stevenson expanded the family to include Bowenia. [3] [4] This decision was based on some shared characters (synapomorphies) such as the presence of fused vacularized stipules, the lack or irregular production of cataphylls, and a few other anatomical and morphological traits. [4] Later molecular [5] [6] [7] evidence suggested that the two genera of the Stangeriaceae belonged in different positions within the Zamiaceae, thus leading other authors to propose dissolving the family. [8]
The genus Stangeria occurs in South Africa, in the Kwa-Zulu Natal and Eastern Cape regions, while both species of Bowenia occur in Queensland, Australia.
Wikispecies has information related to Stangeriaceae . |
The order Pinales in the division Pinophyta, class Pinopsida, comprises all the extant conifers. The distinguishing characteristic is the reproductive structure known as a cone produced by all Pinales. All of the extant conifers, such as cedar, celery-pine, cypress, fir, juniper, larch, pine, redwood, spruce, yew and Araucaria araucana are included here. Some fossil conifers, however, belong to other distinct orders within the division Pinophyta.
Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk with a crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants of a species are either male or female. Cycads vary in size from having trunks only a few centimeters to several meters tall. They typically grow very slowly and live very long, with some specimens known to be as much as 1,000 years old. Because of their superficial resemblance, they are sometimes mistaken for palms or ferns, but they are not closely related to either group.
The gymnosperms are a group of seed-producing plants that includes conifers, cycads, Ginkgo, and gnetophytes, forming the clade Gymnospermae, the living members of which are also known as Acrogymnospermae. The term gymnosperm comes from the composite word in Greek: γυμνόσπερμος, literally meaning 'naked seeds'. The name is based on the unenclosed condition of their seeds. The non-encased condition of their seeds contrasts with the seeds and ovules of flowering plants (angiosperms), which are enclosed within an ovary. Gymnosperm seeds develop either on the surface of scales or leaves, which are often modified to form cones, or solitary as in yew, Torreya, Ginkgo. Gymnosperm lifecycles involve alternation of generations. They have a dominant diploid sporophyte phase and a reduced haploid gametophyte phase which is dependent on the sporophytic phase.
Zygophyllaceae is a family of flowering plants that contains the bean-caper and caltrop. The family includes around 285 species in 22 genera.
Cephalorhynchus is a genus in the dolphin family Delphinidae.
Karl Alfred Ritter von Zittel was a German palaeontologist best known for his Handbuch der Palaeontologie (1876–1880).
Stangeria eriopus is a cycad endemic to southern Africa. It is the sole species in the genus Stangeria, most closely related to the Australian genus Bowenia, with which it forms the family Stangeriaceae.
The genus Bowenia includes two living and two fossil species of cycads in the family Stangeriaceae, sometimes placed in their own family Boweniaceae. They are entirely restricted to Australia. The two living species occur in Queensland. B. spectabilis grows in warm, wet, tropical rainforests, on protected slopes and near streams, primarily in the lowlands of the Wet Tropics Bioregion. However, it has a local form with serrate pinna margins that grows in rainforest, Acacia-dominated transition forest, and also Casuarina-dominated sclerophyll forest on the Atherton Tableland, where it is subject to periodic bushfire. B. serrulata grows in sclerophyll forest and transition forest close to the Tropic of Capricorn.
Cycas is a genus of plants belonging to a very ancient lineage, the Cycadophyta, which are not closely related to palms, ferns, trees or any other modern group of plants. They are evergreen perennials which achieved their maximum diversity in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, when they were distributed almost worldwide. At the end of the Cretaceous, when the non-avian dinosaurs became extinct, so did most of the cycas in the Northern Hemisphere.
The Zamiaceae are a family of cycads that are superficially palm or fern-like. They are divided into two subfamilies with eight genera and about 150 species in the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Australia and North and South America.
Dioon is a genus of cycads in the family Zamiaceae. It is native to Mexico and Central America. Their habitats include tropical forests, pine-oak forest, and dry hillsides, canyons and coastal dunes.
Ceratozamia is a genus of New World cycads in the family Zamiaceae. The genus contains 27 known currently living species and one or two fossil species. Most species are endemic to mountainous areas of Mexico, while few species extend into the mountains of Guatemala, Honduras and Belize. The genus name comes from the Greek ceras, meaning horn, which refers to the paired, spreading horny projections on the male and female sporophylls of all species.
Botrypus virginianum, synonym Botrychium virginianum, sometimes called rattlesnake fern is a species of perennial fern in the adders-tongue family. It is monotypic within the genus Botrypus, meaning that it is the only species within the genus. It is called the rattlesnake fern in some parts of North America, due to its habit of growing in places where rattlesnakes are also found. Rattlesnake fern prefers to grow in rich, moist woods in dense shade and will not tolerate direct sunlight.
Verreaux's mouse or Verreaux's white-footed rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is the only member of the genus Myomyscus. Other species that had been previously assigned to Myomyscus are now considered to belong to the genera Mastomys, Ochromyscus, Praomys and Stenocephalemys.
Macrozamia heteromera is a species of cycad in the family Zamiaceae initially discovered by Charles Moore in 1858 and is endemic to New South Wales, Australia. It can be found in the north-western region of New South Wales within the Warrumbungle mountains and further south west towards the Coonabarabran district. It is a low trunked cycad usually at a height below 1 metre and can be found in dry sclerophyll woodlands. M. heteromera can be distinguished from the rest of the Macrozamia genus by its mid-green, narrow, usually divided pinnae and divided seedling pinnae.It is a plant that has toxic seeds and leaves, a characteristic common to cycads. However, after proper preparation and procedure, the seeds are fine for consumption.
Macrozamia miquelii, is a species of cycad in the plant family Zamiaceae. It is endemic to Queensland and New South Wales in Eastern Australia. Located within sclerophyll forests dominated by eucalyptus trees, the cycad grows on nutrient-poor soils. It is recognised within the Zamiaceae family for its, medium height at 1 m, intermediate size of male and female cones and lighter green leaves compared to other cycads within the plant family of Zamiaceae. The seeds have an orange red sarcotesta which attracts fauna consumption, allowing a mutualistic seed dispersal for the cycad. These seeds are also edible for human consumption if prepared correctly to remove the toxins.
Jamesonia is a genus of ferns in the subfamily Pteridoideae of the family Pteridaceae. It now includes the formerly separate genus Eriosorus.
Myosotis antarctica is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae, native to Campbell Island of New Zealand and southern Chile. Joseph Dalton Hooker described the species in his 19th century work Flora Antarctica. Plants of this species of forget-me-not are perennial and have white or blue corollas. It is one of two native species of Myosotis in the New Zealand subantarctic islands, the other being M. capitata, which also has blue corollas.
Myosotis capitata is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae, endemic to the Campbell and Auckland Islands of New Zealand. Joseph Dalton Hooker described the species in his 19th century work Flora Antarctica. Plants of this species of forget-me-not are perennial and erect, and have ebracteate inflorescences and blue corollas. It is one of two native species of Myosotis in the New Zealand subantarctic islands, the other being M. antarctica, which can also have blue corollas.
Eostangeria is a morphogenus of fossil foliage belonging to the Cycadales.