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| Introduction |
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| In the description of Angiosperms, family is the most useful taxonomic unit. Ranks higher than family are not of much practical significance and are used mostly in classification systems and academic discussions. The taxonomic category genus also does not get much importance as plants are scientifically described in binomial nomenclature. Use of only the generic name isolated from the specific name may lead to confusion. The genus Solanum includes several species of which Solanum tuberosum alone represents the potato plant. Hence, potato can be described only as Solanum tuberosum and not just as Solanum. |
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| The size of angiosperm families is highly variable. Some families contain a single species (monotypic family) some have a single genus with several species (unigeneric family). The number of species determines size of the family. |
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| Concise descriptions of the characteristics of six selected families Poaceae, Liliaceae, Fabaceae, Solanaceae, Brassicaceae and Asteraceae are given here. |
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| fig. 27.1 Table Showing Characteristics of a Flower and Symbol Used |
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| Note: |
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