Solanaceae, Fabaceae, Liliaceae: Family Description

According to plant taxonomists, it has been estimated that a total of 2 to 3 million plant species exist on our planet. Among them, around two lakh species are angiosperms (flowering plants), while others include gymnosperms, bryophytes, hydrophytes and other vascular and non-vascular plants. These plants are grouped into different families depending upon their characteristics.

Table of Contents

• Solanaceae
  • Characteristics
  • Importance
• Fabaceae
  • Fabaceae Characteristics
  • Fabaceae Importance
• Liliaceae
  • Liliaceae Characteristics
  • Liliaceae Importance 

Read on to explore the Solanaceae, Fabaceae, and Liliaceae families of flowering plants, their characteristics and importance in complete detail.

Also refer: Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, and Poaceae

The Solanaceae family is also known as the potato family. Around 2000 species of dicotyledonous plants belong to this family. Solanaceae is included under the order Solanales. Its important characteristics are mentioned below.

Following are the characteristic features of the Solanaceae family:

Vegetative Characters

• Root System: Taproot system.
• Stem: Erect or climber; Solanaceae includes herbs, shrubs, small trees, and climbers.
• Leaves:  Alternate, simple or pinnately compound (rarely); exstipulate; reticulate venation.

Floral characters

• Inflorescence: Racemose- terminal or axillary raceme; Cymose- solitary in Solanum.
• Flower: Complete, bisexual, actinomorphic, hypogynous.
• Calyx: Five sepals, gamosepalous; valvate aestivation.
• Corolla: Five petals, gamopetalous, valvate aestivation.
• Androecium: Five stamens, epipetalous; anthers basifixed.
• Gynoecium: Syncarpous, bicarpellary, bilocular, superior ovary, axile placentation.
• Fruit: Berry/ capsule.
• Seed: Numerous, endospermous

The economic importance of some plants belonging to the Solanaceae family is as follows:

• These are important sources of food. E.g. tomato, brinjal and potato
• These are important sources of spices. E.g. chilly
• The leaves of Nicotiana tabacum are a major source of tobacco.
• These are also used as ornamental plants. E.g. petunia
• Plants such as belladonna and ashwagandha are also used as medicinal plants.

Also refer: Dicotyledonous and Monocotyledonous Seeds

The Fabaceae family is a large family of the plant kingdom, including several economically important plants. The family Fabaceae is also known as Leguminosae or Papilionaceae since it belongs to the pea or legume family. There are around 20,000 species of dicotyledonous Fabaceae plants widely distributed all over the world.

Listed below are the morphological and floral characteristics of the Fabaceae family.

Vegetative Characters

• Root: Dicotyledons, taproot with root nodules.
• Stem: Erect or climber; Fabaceae includes shrubs, herbs, trees and majorly climbers.
• Leaves: Petiolate, pinnately compound or simple; pulvinus leaf base, stipulate; reticulate venation.

Floral Characters

• Inflorescence: Racemose.
• Flower: Complete, bisexual, zygomorphic, hypogynous, bracteate/ ebracteate.
• Calyx: Five sepals, gamosepalous; valvate or imbricate aestivation.
• Corolla: Five petals, polypetalous, papilionaceous, vexillary aestivation.
• Androecium: Ten stamens (9+1), diadelphous, anther dithecous.
• Gynoecium: Superior ovary, monocarpellary, unilocular, single, short -style and flat, hairy-stigma.
• Fruit: Legume.
• Seed: One or more, non-endospermic.

Many plants belonging to this family are economically useful. Few of them are listed below:

• The plants of this family are unique and have root nodules which contain nitrogen-fixing symbiotic bacteria, capable of transforming atmospheric nitrogen into fixed nitrogen or ammonia.
• Pulses like gram, moong, soya bean are the main source of food.
• Mulethi plant is known for its medicinal value.
• Soya bean and groundnuts are used to extract oil that is used for cooking.
• Sunn hemp is the source of timber and fibre.
• Indigofera is used to make dye.
• Sesbania and Trifolium are the sources of fodder or livestock feed.
• Lupin and sweet pea are known as ornamental plants.

Liliaceae is the family of around 2500 species of perennial, herbaceous monocots. It is also known as the ‘lily family’. Its characteristics are discussed below.

Following are the important characteristics of the Liliaceae family.

Vegetative Characters

• Root: Fibrous root system.
• Stem: Erect; Liliaceae includes perennial herbs which propagate through bulbs or rhizomes.
• Leaves:  Alternate, simple; exstipulate; parallel venation.

Floral characters

• Inflorescence: Cymose- solitary; umbellate clusters.
• Flower: Complete, bisexual, actinomorphic; hypogynous, perianth present.
• Perianth: Indistinctive sepal and petal; six tepals (3+3), often united tepals; valvate aestivation.
• Androecium: Six stamens in two whorls (3+3).
• Gynoecium: Syncarpous, tricarpellary, trilocular, superior ovary with axile placentation.
• Fruit: Mostly Capsule and sometimes berry.
• Seed: Endospermic seeds.

The economic importance of the plants belonging to the Liliaceae family are:

• Source of Medicine -Aloe vera, Smilax and Colchicine.
• Ornamental Plants -Lilium, tulips, Gloriosa and Ruscus.
• Source of food (or) Vegetables-Asparagus.
• Bulbs of Allium cepa and the roots of various species of Smilax are used as flavouring agents.

Learn more about Solanaceae, Fabaceae, and Liliaceae families at BYJU’S Biology.