Fagaceae

  • Family

    Fagaceae (Magnoliophyta)

  • Scientific Name

    Fagaceae

  • Common Names

    Beech Family

  • Description

    Number of genera: 6-8

    Number of species: 800

    Description (from PLANTAE): Trees and shrubs, evergreen or deciduous. Stems: rhizomes sometimes present; buds protected by imbricate scales, rarely naked. Stipules present, usually soon caducous. Monoecious. Leaves alternate or rarely verticillate, simple; blade margins entire, toothed or lobed; venation pinnate. Inflorescences axillary (sometimes at base of new growth), rarely terminal, unisexual or androgynous, variously modified and often reduced dichasia, the dichasia spicate or capitate, rigid, flexuous, or lax; staminate dichasia solitary on a bract or on elongate simple or branched axes (spikes, aments or catkins) or capitate; ovulate dichasia at base of male inflorescences (the inflorescences androgynous) or in separate axils, 1-3 (sometimes many) flowered, the dichasia subtended by an involucre (cupule), the cupule discoid, ovoid or tubular. Flowers actinomorphic, usually unisexual, inconspicuous (except enmasse). Staminate flowers: tepals usually 6, usually connate with 4-7 lobes; androecium of 3 to many stamens, filaments linear, distinct, the anthers basifixed, 2-celled, the cells confluent, dehiscing longitudinally; pistillodes sometimes a central tuft of trichomes, rudimentary gynoecium sometimes present. Ovulate flowers: tepals usually 6, free or connate with 3-6 lobes, or irregularly cleft; gynoecium syncarpous, the ovary inferior, the carpels 3-6, the locules 3-6 (1 in fruit), the styles distinct, equal to the number of carpels, the stigmas decurrent or capitate; placentation axile, the ovules 2 per locule (1 aborting), anatropous. Fruits 1-seeded nut, rounded or triangular, subtended or enveloped by scaly or spiny cupule, 1-many (usually 1 or 3) nuts per cupule. Seed 1, the embryo large.

    Distribution (from PLANTAE): North temperate, subtropical and some tropics, primarily in North America and Eurasia

    Economic uses (from PLANTAE): Oaks (Quercus) comprise a little more than half the family. Half the species of the genus occur in the New World and half in the Old World. The center of diversity in the New World is in central Mexico, from whence the species radiate north and south.

  • Floras and Monographs

    Fagaceae: [Book] Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.