Classification Evolution And Phylogeny Of The Families Of Monocotyledons PDF Download

To some extent classification is subjective. Taxonomists differ in the relative importance they ascribe to particular characters and in the degree of difference between related taxa they deem sufficient to constitute family or ordinal rank. About 250 monocot family names have been published. Those who have attempted an overview of the system at the family level and above in the last quarter century recognize between 45 and 103 monocot families in 14 to 38 orders. I accept 57 families in 18 orders. In Table 1 I give my ordinal allocation of the families and that of 11 recent authors to indicate where there is agreement and where there are differences to be resolved. I have constructed a dendrogram to suggest relationships and degree of advancement of the orders.I have written concise, uniform descriptions of all the families of monocots emphasizing those characters that show trends between families or occur in more than one family. Each family is illustrated by analytical drawings of the flower, fruit, seed, and usually inflorescence. Several species are usually used to show the range of major variation within families and trends toward related families.