*SHOW Gymnosperm families: characters 
1 July 2007. 
 
*CHARACTER LIST 
 
#1. <common name>/
 
#2. <synonyms:>/
 
#3. <habit: pachycaul or leptocaul>/
       1. pachycaul/
       2. leptocaul <implicit>/
 
#4. <evergreen or deciduous>/
       1. evergreen/
       2. deciduous/
 
#5. <habit>/
       1. trees/
       2. shrubs/
       3. vines/
       4. a long-lived, woody herbaceous perennial, the woody,
          tap-rooted stem widening into a concave disc up to a metre
          across <\i{}Welwitschia\i0{}>/
 
#6. <bizarre plant form - \i{}Welwitschia\i0{}>/
       1. a bizarre southern African gymnospermous monotypic with a
          short, woody, unbranched stem bearing only 2 (rarely 3)
          strap-shaped amphistomatous leaves, the latter continuing to
          grow from basal meristems throughout the long life of the
          plant, spreading laterally along the ground, progressively
          fraying and twisting/
       2. plants of conventional form <implicit>/
 
#7. <whether exhibiting switch-plant morphology>/
       1. \i{}Casuarina\i0{}-like switch-plants photosynthesizing mainly
          via their grooved and jointed stems, the leaves reduced to
          small scales which are soon shed/
       2. not \i{}Casuarina\i0{}-like switch plants <implicit>/
 
#8. <whether exhibiting coralloid masses of apogeotropic roots>/
       1. with apogeotropic roots bearing cyanobacteria, born in
          coralloid masses just above ground level <Cycadales>/
       2. without coralloid, cyanobacteria-containing root masses
          <implicit>/
 
#9. <whether plants resinous>/
       1. resinous <with resin-containing cells, cavities or canals
          conspicuous somewhere in the plant>/
       2. not resinous/
 
#10. main branches <insertion>/
       1. spiral <alternate>/
       2. whorled/
       3. opposite/
 
#11. the leafy branchlets/
       1. flattened in one plane <the leaves 2-ranked by basal twisting:
          complanate>/
       2. not flattened/
 
#12. the vegetative branch systems <presence or absence of specialized
          short-shoots: see Notes>/
       1. without conspicuously specialised short-shoots/
       2. including highly specialised, leaf-bearing short-shoots
          <spurs>/
 
#13. <presence of phyllodes>/
       1. phyllocladineous <flattened stems functioning as leaves>/
       2. with normal leaves <not phyllocladineous: implicit>/
 
#14. mature <foliage> leaves <simple or compound>/
       1. simple/
       2. pinnate/
       3. bipinnate/
 
#15. the <cycad> leaflets <venation>/
       1. with a prominent midrib and no laterals <Cycadaceae>/
       2. with pinnate venation, having a prominent midrib and
          dichotomously branching laterals <Stangeriaceae>/
       3. with numerous parallel or wavy, single or forked longitudinal
          veins but no prominent midrib <Zamiaceae>/
 
#16. mature <foliage> leaves <whether dimorphic>/
       1. dimorphic/
       2. not dimorphic <implicit>/
 
#17. mature <foliage> leaves <form>/
       1. broad and flat <and several veined>/
       2. linear <and single, single veined: including acicular>/
       3. scale-like <single veined>/
       4. 2-veined, evidently representing pairs of needles united
          lengthwise <\i{}Sciadopitys\i0{}>/
 
#18. mature <foliage> leaves <linear, whether acicular>/
       1. acicular <hard and pointed: needle-like>/
       2. relatively soft <not acicular>/
 
#19. mature <foliage> leaves <organization>/
       1. in tight clusters on short-shoots, each cluster with a basal
          sheath of scales/
       2. not <tightly> clustered/
 
#20. mature <foliage> leaves <phyllotaxy>/
       1. alternate <spiral>/
       2. opposite and decussate/
       3. whorled/
 
#21. longitudinal resin canals <presence in leaves>/
       1. present in the leaves/
       2. absent from the leaves/
 
#22. longitudinal resin canals <location in transverse sections>/
       1. 1 per leaf, this median-abaxial/
       2. 2 per leaf, these lateral <median or marginal>/
       3. in a horizontal row/
       4. in a peripheral ring/
       5. in an abaxial arc/
       6. in an adaxial arc/
 
#23. <sexuality>/
       1. monoecious/
       2. dioecious/
 
#24. <possession of flower-like reproductive structures>/
       1. the reproductive structures organized like reduced angiosperm
          flowers <with stamen-like antherophores and exposed,
          gymnospermous ovules: Gnetales>/
       2. the reproductive organization not flower-like <implicit>/
 
#25. <comments on female reproductive structures>/
 
#26. the ovules <whether in cones>/
       1. borne in female cones <strobili>/
       2. not in cones/
 
#27. the female cones <woody or berry-like>/
       1. woody/
       2. fleshy and berry-like/
 
#28. the seed-cone scales <arrangement>/
       1. spirally arranged/
       2. opposite and decussate/
       3. whorled/
 
#29. the seed-cone scales <persistent or deciduous>/
       1. persistent/
       2. deciduous, the cones disintegrating at maturity/
 
#30. the seed-cone scales <texture>/
       1. fleshy/
       2. leathery/
       3. woody/
 
#31. the ovules <location>/
       1. borne proximal-adaxially on the seed-cone scales <often
          involving a morphologically complex ovuliferous scale>/
       2. terminating axes/
       3. marginal or in notches, on discrete megasporophylls with
          sterile tips/
       4. axillary <to bracts or seed-cone scales>/
       5. borne erect in the centre of the flowers <cf. an angiosperm
          gynoecium>/
 
#32. the bract-scales <free or fused>/
       1. more or less free of the seed-cone scales <or ovuliferous
          scales> in mature cones/
       2. extensively fused to the seed-cone scales <or ovuliferous
          scales> in mature cones/
       3. not clearly resolvable from the seed-cone scales/
 
#33. the megasporophylls <number of ovules>/
       ovuled/
 
#34. the seed-cone scales <or ovuliferous scale complexes: number of
          ovules>/
       ovuled/
 
#35. the <mature> ovules <orientation>/
       1. orthotropus <erect>/
       2. anatropous <reflexed>/
 
#36. the ovules <number of integuments>/
       integumented/
 
#37. <comments on male reproductive structures>/
 
#38. pollen-sacs <number per microsporophyll>/
       per microsporophyll/
 
#39. pollen <whether with bladders>/
       1. with air bladders/
       2. without air bladders/
 
#40. <comments on pollination>/
 
#41. fertilization <whether involving production of motile
          spermatozoids>/
       1. involving spirally flagellate, motile spermatozoids
          <Cycadales>/
       2. not involving motile spermatozoids <implicit>/
 
#42. seeds <whether with fleshy investment>/
       1. with a fleshy investment/
       2. with no fleshy investment <implicit>/
 
#43. the fleshy investment <of the seeds, derivation>/
       1. receptacular/
       2. representing a genuine aril <an outgrowth from beneath the
          ovule>/
       3. developed from the cone-scales/
       4. developed from the integument/
 
#44. seeds <winged or wingless>/
       1. winged/
       2. wingless/
 
#45. cotyledons <number>/
 
#46. growth rings <of wood, whether distinct>/
       1. indistict/
       2. distinct/
 
#47. heartwood <whether distinctively coloured>/
       1. present and distinctively coloured/
       2. present but not distinctively coloured, or absent/
 
#48. latewood <whether conspicuous>/
       1. not conspicuous <the transition gradual>/
       2. conspicuous <the transition abrupt>/
 
#49. wood <whether with distinct odour>/
       1. with a distinct odour/
       2. without distinct odour/
 
#50. wood <whether with distinct taste>/
       1. with a distinct <bitter or astringent> taste/
       2. without distinct taste/
 
#51. wood <whether greasy>/
       1. greasy to the touch/
       2. not greasy/
 
#52. wood <whether with dimpled grain>/
       1. with dimpled grain/
       2. without dimpled grain/
 
#53. secondary xylem <presence of vessels>/
       1. with vessels/
       2. lacking vessels <wood exclusively of tracheids and parenchyma:
          implicit>/
 
#54. tracheids <arrangement of pits>/
       1. with alternate bordered pits <in the radial walls>/
       2. with opposite and multiseriate bordered pits/
       3. with neither alternate nor opposite bordered pits <i.e.,
          bordered pits uniseriate, or lacking?>/
 
#55. tracheids <presence of callitroid thickenings>/
       1. with callitroid pit-border thickenings/
       2. without callitroid pit-border thickenings <implicit>/
 
#56. margins of the tori <whether scalloped>/
       1. scalloped/
       2. not scalloped <implicit>/
 
#57. torus extensions <presence>/
       1. conspicuously present/
       2. absent <implicit>/
 
#58. earlywood tracheids <with or without spirals>/
       1. with spiral thickenings/
       2. without spiral thickenings/
 
#59. axial parenchyma <presence>/
       1. present/
       2. absent/
 
#60. axial parenchyma <when present, abundance>/
       1. abundant/
       2. scarce/
 
#61. axial parenchyma <whether zonate>/
       1. zonate/
       2. not zonate/
 
#62. axial parenchyma <presence of nodular or bead-like thickenings on
          transverse or end-walls>/
       1. with nodular thickenings or bead-like on the transverse or
          end-walls/
       2. without nodular thickenings on the transverse or end-walls/
 
#63. rays <in TLS, whether exclusively uniseriate>/
       1. exclusively uniseriate/
       2. not exclusively uniseriate <specify widths>/
 
#64. ray tracheids <presence>/
       1. regularly present <the rays heterogeneous>/
       2. absent or very infrequent <or produced only in response to
          wounding>/
 
#65. ray tracheids <when present, whether dentate>/
       1. dentate/
       2. not dentate/
 
#66. earlywood ray cells <whether with thin horizontal walls>/
       1. with horizontal walls thinner than those of the adjacent
          vertical tracheids above and below the ray/
       2. with walls similar in thickness to those of adjacent vertical
          tracheids/
 
#67. latewood ray cells <pitting of horizontal walls>/
       1. with pitted horizontal walls/
       2. with unpitted horizontal walls/
 
#68. the pitting <in horizontal walls of latewood rays, strength>/
       1. strong/
       2. weak/
 
#69. ray cells <whether exhibiting indentures>/
       1. exhibiting indentures at the corners <best seen in readial
          sections>/
       2. without indentures/
 
#70. ray cells <presence of nodular or bead-like thickenings on their
          end walls>/
       1. exhibiting nodular or bead-like thickenings on their end walls
          <i.e., the vertical walls in radial sections>/
       2. without nodular thickenings on their end walls/
 
#71. ray tissue <presence of crystals>/
       1. exhibiting crystals/
       2. without crystals/
 
#72. earlywood cross-field pits <configuration>/
       1. 1(-3), large and simple (or nearly so)/
       2. piceoid/
       3. cupressoid/
       4. taxodioid/
       5. 1-6 pinoid/
 
#73. normal vertical resin ducts <presence, exclusive of traumatic resin
          ducts>/
       1. present <nearly always accompanied by horizontal ones in
          rays>/
       2. absent/
 
#74. the normal resin ducts <thickness of epithelial cell walls>/
       1. with at least some thick-walled epithelial cells/
       2. with only thin-walled epithelial cells/
 
#75. the normal resin ducts <number of epithelial cells, in cases where
          the epithelial cells are thick-walled>/
       1. with 5-6 epithelial cells/
       2. with 7-12 epithelial cells/
 
#76. <climatic distribution:>/
       1. frigid zone/
       2. temperate/
       3. sub-tropical/
       4. tropical/
 
#77. <world distribution:>/
 
#78. <natural geographical distribution (intended for keys only; see
          NOTES):>/
       1. Western and Northern Eurasia, U.S.S.R./
       2. Middle East <Turkey to North Africa, and eastwards to Iran>/
       3. Mediterranean/
       4. Eastern and Southern Asia <including Japan, China, India>/
       5. North Africa/
       6. Central, East tropical and West tropical Africa/
       7. South Africa/
       8. Madagascar/
       9. Malay Archipelago <including New Guinea>/
       10. Australasia <Australia, New Zealand>/
       11. Pacific Islands/
       12. North America/
       13. Central America/
       14. West Indies/
       15. South America/
       16. Arctic/
       17. Antarctic/
 
#79. basic chomosome number, n =/
 
#80. <number of species>/
       species/
 
#81. <genera included>/
 
#82. Subclass (after Christenhusz et al., 2011):/
       1. Cycadidae <Cycadophyta>/
       2. Ginkgoidae <Ginkgophyta>/
       3. Gnetidae <Gnetophyta>/
       4. Pinidae <Pinophyta>/
 
#83. <Order of Cycadidae>/
       1. Cycadales/
       2. Bennettitales/
 
#84. <Order of Ginkgoidae>/
       1. Ginkgoales/
 
#85. <Order of Gnetidae>/
       1. Welwitschiales/
       2. Gnetales/
       3. Ephedrales/
 
#86. <Order of Pinidae>/
       1. Pinales/
       2. Araucariales/
       3. Cupressales/
 
#87. <comments>/
 
#88. <abbreviated taxon name:>/
 
#89. <illustrations>/
