1. Lecture update - 1:45-2:30

2. Visit a few major flowering plant families: Caesalpiniaceae, Malvaceae, Lamiaceae, and Cannaceae:

• Caesalpiniaceae (Fabaceae): Senna flower (review) with classic 'bean' features and an interesting androecium (stamens modified for other (non-reproductive) function = staminodes).
• Cannaceae: A single genus (Canna) with 25 species distributed (natively) in the tropical American lowlands. Related to the Musaceae (what's Musa?). Economic importance centers of this taxon (Canna X generalis Bailey) as an ornamental now grown all over the world and, at one time, a plant known variously as C. indica, C. edulis, or C. achiras, that was (still is in some parts of the Andes - mid-elevation) as a starchy rhizome/tuber known locally (Quechua) as 'achira'. Cooked achira tubers have been recovered from tombs along the coast of Peru that date to 2,500 B.C.

• Malvaceae: 75 genera and about 1,000 species with quite a few within the ethnoflora; including fiber (cotton), food (okra - Abelmoschus esculentus, marsh mallow - Althaea officinalis), and ornamentals such as hollyhocks (Alcea rosea) and - among many others - this genus, Hibiscus:

• Lamiaceae (Labiatae): 258 genera with 6, 970 species distributed world wide with a center of diversity in the Mediterranean through central Asia. A distinctive family (opposite leaves and 4-angled stem), often with epidermal glands that produce volatile oils (can be allelopathic in some chapparal species). This feature is the basis for the inclusion of many taxa within the ethnoflora as spices or 'essences': lavender (Lavandula), mint (Mentha), basil (Ocimum), oregano and marjoam (Origanum), rosemary (Rosmarinus):

Also, Salvia is used as both a spice (sage) and native American food - chia - (S. hispanica):

How does the Salvia flower differ from the rosemary flower?