Asterids continue survey through the eudicots or tricolpates after completing Rosids Diversity and Evolution of Asterids the Asterids are the second of the two large groups of dicots and the easier one to define morphologically dogwoods blueberries and primroses rosid Asterid Characteristics fused petals sympetaly stamen number petal number asterid Asterid Characteristics iridoid compounds with losses basal asterids asterids have them previously not placed with asterids stamens fused to corolla tube Rubiaceae coffee family Scrophulariaceae snapdragon family Gardenia Picrorhiza kurroa Asterid Characteristics one layer of integuments in ovule vs two in other groups the unitegminae unitegminae vs bitegminae of van Tieghem in 1901 new Asterid group Asterid Composition composition of Asterids is largely congruent with previous morphology bitegminae Asterid Composition exceptions include the basal asterids asterids and separate petal or small flower orders Apiaceae carrot family Asterid Composition exceptions include the basal asterids asterids and separate petal or small flower orders some of these non non sympetalous Asterids e g order Cornales have early early petal ring primordia in development subsequent petal development is separate so appear to be polypetalous Aquifoliaceae holly family Early ring primordia of 5 petals in snapdragon a true asterid EMBO Journal 2003 22 1058 1058 1066 Basal Asterids Cornales basal asterids represent a grade towards the core asterids order sister to remainder of Asterids comprises 7 small families diverse great variation in floral form in the two orders Cornales and Ericales the standard standard Asterid flower has not been fixed Hydrangeaceae Cornus Cornaceae Chimaphila Cornaceae dogwoods mainly north temperate shrub family of 2 genera and 85 species Alangium Cornus Nyssaceae Loasaceae Cornaceae dogwoods opposite simple leaves arcuate venation Cornaceae dogwoods Cornus stolonifera red osier Cornaceae dogwoods CA 4 CO 4 A 4 G 2 Eastern North American small tree with 4 conspicuous white bracts bracts 4 merous merous small flowers with separate petals 2 carpellate inferior ovary fruit a 2 seeded drupe drupe some inflorescences surrounded by showy bracts head head or pseudanthium pseudanthium false flower Cornus florida flowering dogwood Cornaceae dogwoods Cornus canadensis bunch berry Cornaceae dogwoods Low to ground boreal subshrub appears to have a whorl of leaves and has 4 showy bracts below flowers Cornus racemosa Gray dogwood Common component of shrub carr Cornus stolonifera Red osier Common in wet places distinctive with red stems Nyssaceae black gums Closely related to dogwood family small family of trees and shrubs from North Temperate region Nyssa sylvatica sour gum black gum black tupelo Hydrangeaceae hydrangeas Another small family of trees shrubs and vines from North Temperate region many ornamental woody plants most recently placed in Saxifragaceae rare flowers unisexual with male flowers in umbels drupes black Hydrangea arborescens Hydrangea Loasaceae evening stars Another small family related to hydrangeas but largely restricted to the New World Philadelphus mock orange Ericales large important order of 23 families 11 000 species will focus on just a few families and learn Ericaceae blueberries and Primulaceae primroses rosid like flowers parietal placentation many twining with irritants Mentzelia crocea Sierra blazing star blueberry primrose Ericales Ericales represent less than 6 of eudicot diversity and 1 3 of these belong to Ericaceae alone but Ericales Ericales exhibit great diversity in habit and nutrient uptake strategies 10 of the understory species in tropical rainforests mycorrhizal associations and about 22 of the total stems in these forests mycorrhizal parasites mycotrophs Monotropa Indian pipe Clavija Ericales Ericales exhibit great diversity in habit and nutrient uptake strategies parasitism Arctostaphylos bearberry Ericales as early diverging Asterids Asterids Ericales exhibit a bewildering mixture of Rosid and Asterid features carnivory Rosid Mitrastema parasite Sarracenia pitcher plant core Asterid Corolla Structure sympetaly Corolla Structure polypetaly Re examined in light of DNA based relationships Schoenenberger Anderson Sytsma 2005 corolla evolution is still complicated perhaps one or two separate origins of sympetaly and two or three reversals to choripetaly Fouquieria for instance in Couroupita Fouquieriaceae Lecythidaceae Primulaceae Roridulaceae Integument Number unitegmic Integument Number bitegmic Re examined in light of DNA based relationships Schoenenberger Anderson Sytsma 2005 ovule integument evolution is still complicated multiple swtiches from the derived asterid condition of unitegmic to bitegmic and back again Clethra for instance in Clethraceae Symplocaceae Jacquinia Theophrastaceae Marcgraviaceae Stamen Number 1 whorl Theaceae tea camellia 2 whorls North Temperate family of evergreen serrate leaved shrubs 7 genera and up to 400 species Camellia sinensis tea Shortia for instance in Schima Schima Polemoniaceae Theaceae Roridulaceae Actinidiaceae Theaceae tea camellia flowers have separate petals and many stamens Ericaceae blueberries Worldwide woody family except lowland tropics of 126 genera and nearly 4 000 species the E Asian genus Enkianthus is sister to the rest of the family Stewartia malacodendron Eastern North America and Eastern Asia is the classic classic north temperate disjunction pattern Stewartia sinensis Stewartia pseudocamellia Enkianthus Ericaceae blueberries Ericaceae blueberries comprises the former families Pyrolaceae Monotropaceae Empetraceae Epacridaceae characteristic of nutrient poor soils bogs acidic pine dominated forests tropical epiphytes or sandy soils mycorrhizal relationship forming haustoria root to fungus connection permits nutrient uptake by plants carbon uptake by fungus Moneses Leatherleaf in bog Cavendisia cloud forest epiphyte Epacris Monotropa Empetrum Ericaceae blueberries Ericaceae blueberries evergreen evergreen tough leathery leaves often revolute or inrolled sunken stomata and bottom of leaves often covered with protective hairs mycotrophs lacking chlorophyll and totally parasitizing the fungus for food nutrients and water former family Monotropaceae derived from within mycorrhizal Ericaceae Monotropa uniflora Monotropa hypopithys Pterospora andromedea Giant pinedrops Indian pipe Pinesap Ledum Labrador tea Note revolute leaves Arctostaphylos bearberry