comparison of family cyperaceae and poaceae

1. CYPERACEAE & POACEAE
Presented by
Swetha S Menon
2nd MSc Botany

2. INTRODUCTION
• Cyperaceae
This family includes 90 genera and 4000sps widely
distributed over all parts of the world.In India the
family represnted by 22 genera and 405 sps
throughout the country and abundant in the
plains .The best known examples are Chufas
[Cyperus esculntus L.], Umberlla plant
[Cyperus alternifolius L.], Sedge [Cyperus
rotundus] and Cotton sedge [Eriophrum sps]

3. • They are grass or rush-like mostly perinnial
herbs ,abundant in wet and marshy places.
The plant persist by means of an underground
creeping sympodial rhizome which some
times bears tubers as in Cyperus esculentus
and Cyperus rotundus

4. Umberlla plant
Cotton sedge
chufas
Sedge

5. • Poaceae [Gramineae]
The Poaceae are one of the largest and most
important family of the plant kingdom .They
contain about 600 genera and over 10,000
sps,widely distributed all over the world .They
show greater adaptibility and thrive under the
most varied conditions,ocurring from artic to
antartic ,from sea level to high mountain
,from fresh water of lakes and rivers to
blackish situations on the coast and under
extreme desert conditions.

6. This is the largest family of Indian flora and is
represnted by about 239 genera and 1,180 sps
ocurring throughout the country from sea
level to an elavation of about 6,000meters in
the Himalayas.
The familiar examples includes Wheat
[Triticum aestivum L.], Rice [Oryza sativa L.],
Maize [Zea mays L.], Sugarcane
[Saccharum officinarum L.] and Bamboos [sps
of Bambusa,Dendroclamus etc.]

7. • Most of the grasses are annuel,biennial or
most frequently perennial herbs. The range in
height from less than 2 cm to 6 m[ savanna
grasses of the tropics].They are rarely shrubs
or trees with woody steamwhich attain a
height of 30 m or more is Asiatic
bamboos.Some bamboos have a life cycle up
to more than 100 yrs

8. wheat Rice
maize Sugarcane Bamboo

9. SYSTAMATICS & PHLOGENY
•Cyperaceae
The Cyperaceae were included in the series of
Glumaceae by Bentham & Hooker. In Engler’s
classification they were included in the order
Glumiflorae alongwith the Gramineae. The two
families were placed in a single order Cyperales by
Cronquist. Hutchinson and Takthajan placed the
families into separate orders Cyperales and
Graminales or Poales
The Cyperaceae are usually considered as
closely allied to the Graminae.However,studies of

10. Snell [1936] and Blaser [1941, 1944] pointed
out that the Cyperaceae and Gramineae are
not closely related and differ from each other
in several respects. According to Cronqusit
[1968,1981] the chemical similarities between
the two families are more suggestive of
phyletic unity than convergence
The familiy is considered to have
been derived from Liliales[ Blaser] or from the
Juncaceae [Cronqusit & Takthajan]

11. • Poaceae
Bentham & Hooker divided the family into two
subfamilies , Panicaceae & Poaceae, the former
Includes six and the latter seven tribes. They placed the family
alongwith the Cyperaceae in the series Glumaceae. In Engler’s
system the two families were included in th order
Glumiflorae,and Cronquist placed them in his Cyperales.
Hutchinson and Takthajan placed the family in an order of its
own which they named as Graminales and Poales respectively.
The Poaceae are one of the most successful
families of the flowering plants with reduced
flowers adapted for wind pollination.They are
considered to be very advanced group of
angiosperms and evolved from primitive liliaceous
ancestral stocks

12. COMPARISON OF
CYPERACEAE & POACEAE[GRAMINEAE]
POACEAE
 Stem-
Cylindrical,hallow[expect
maize and sugarcane]with
nodes
 Leaves-
Simple,alternate,ligulate,sheat
h split open
 Flower- flowers subtended by
two glumes
 Scales- glumes,lemma,palaea
 Perianth – represented by 2-3
lodicules
CYPERACEAE
 Stem- Triangular,solid,without
nodes
 Leaves- Simple,ligule
absent,closed sheath
 Flower-only one glume
 Scales- pistillate staminate
scales
 Perianth- Absent and
presented by scales or bristles

13.  Stemens –usually
3,rarely 1, basifixed
 Pistil- Tricarpellary,
syncarpous, one celled,
single basal ovule
 Fruit- Achene or nut
 Floral formula-
 Stemens- normally 3,
rarely3+3 , versatile
 Pistil-
Monocarpellary,one
loculed ,one ovuled
 Fruit- Caryopsis
 Floral formula -

16. ECNOMIC IMPORTANCE
CYPERACEAE
Cyperus esculentus L. and Scripus grossus L.f
var.kysoor Roxb. are grown for their edible tubers
known as Chufa or Kaseru. The tubers of
Eleochairs dulcis Trin. [Chinese water chestnut]
are also edible
The dried tubers of some sps such as Cyperus
rotundus L. [Motha] and Cyperus scariosus Br. are
used in medicine and perfumer
Several sps of Cyperus,Kyllinga and Carex mak
good fodder

17. Rhynechospora corymbosa Britton is used as
green manure
The pith from culms of Cyperus papyrus
L.[Papyrus] was used by Egyptians in older times
for paper making
The cottony perianth of th flowers of Eriophorum
[ cotton sedge] is used for stuffing pillows etc.
The leaves and stems of several sps of Scirpus are
used for wicker-work .Some sps are soil binders
and help in natural conservation of shallow water
areas into lands for agriculture.
A few sps such as Cyperus alterrnifolius L. and
Cyperus flabelliformis Rott.[umberalla plant ] are
grown as ornamentals

18. ECNOMIC IMPORTANCE
POACEAE[GRAMINEAE]
Grains of most plants are used as food Eg;
Wheat,Rice,Maize, Ragi etc.
Essential oils obtained from different sps of
Crymbopogon.Citronlla oil from Crymbopogon
nardus,lemon grass oil from C.citratus,ginger
grass oil from C.flexuosus,geranium grass oil from
C.martin. These oils are used in medicines,which
have antibacterial,antifungal or antiseptic
properties
 Cane sugar obtained from the sugary internod of
Saccharum officinarum,is th best source of
energy

19. Leaves and stems of Bamboo and Rheeds are
used to construct and thatch houses, their pulp is
used in the manufacture of paper
Vetiver oil obtained from Vetiveria is medicinally
used oil.Khus-Khus obtained from grains used as
a flavouring material .
Cynodon is medicinal used to treat nervous
diseases
Dactylis is an ornamental grass
Broom grass is used to make broom
Dye, Canada blue, obtained from Poa campressa