mint family
| Dictionary: mint family |
n.
A large family of aromatic herbs, the Labiatae (or Lamiaceae), including lavender, mint, rosemary, sage, and thyme and characterized by opposite leaves, square stems, bilaterally symmetrical flowers with united petals, and a four-lobed ovary that produces four one-seeded nutlets.
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| WordNet: mint family |
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.
The noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
the mints: aromatic herbs and shrubs having flowers resembling the lips of a mouth and four-lobed ovaries yielding four one-seeded nutlets and including thyme; sage; rosemary
Synonyms: Labiatae, family Labiatae, Lamiaceae, family Lamiaceae
| Wikipedia: Lamiaceae |
| Mint family | |
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| Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Lamiaceae Lindley |
| Genera | |
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See text |
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Lamiaceae or Labiatae, also known as the mint family, is a family of plants. It has been considered closely related to Verbenaceae[citation needed] but several recent phylogenetic studies[1] have shown that numerous genera classified in Verbenaceae belong instead in Lamiaceae, whereas the core genera of Verbenaceae are not closely related to Lamiaceae and are more closely related to other members of the Lamiales. The enlarged Lamiaceae family contains 233[2] to 263[3] genera and 6900[2] to 7200[4] species.
The plants are frequently aromatic in all parts and include many widely used culinary herbs, such as basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory, marjoram, oregano, thyme, lavender, and perilla. Some are shrubs, trees, such as teak, or rarely vines. Many members of the family are widely cultivated, owing not only to their aromatic qualities but also their ease of cultivation: these plants are among the easiest plants to propagate by stem cuttings. Besides those grown for their edible leaves, some are grown for decorative foliage, such as coleus. Others are grown for food purposes, but seeds are utilized instead of leaves, such as with chia.
The original family name is Labiatae, so given because the flowers typically have petals fused into an upper lip and a lower lip. Although this is still considered an acceptable alternative name, most botanists now use the name "Lamiaceae" in referring to this family.
The leaves emerge oppositely, each pair at right angles to the previous one (called decussate) or whorled.
The stems are frequently square in cross section, but this is not found in all members of the family, and is sometimes found in other plant families.
The flowers are bilaterally symmetrical with 5 united petals, 5 united sepals. They are usually bisexual and verticillastrate (a flower cluster that looks like a whorl of flowers but actually consists of two crowded clusters).
Contents |
Genera
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The genera in the enlarged family[3]:
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Gallery of Leucas
 Leucas aspera in Hyderabad, India. |
 Leucas aspera in Hyderabad, India. |
 Leucas aspera in Hyderabad, India. |
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References
- ^ Cantino, P.D., Harley, R.M. & Wagstaff, S.J. 1992. Genera of Labiatae: status and classification. Pp. 511-522. In Harley, R.M. & Reynolds, T. (eds) Advances in Labiate Science. Richmond, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- ^ a b Heywood, V.H., Brummitt, R.K., Culham, A. & Seberg, O. 2007: Flowering Plant Families of the World. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- ^ a b "GRIN Taxonomy for Plants - Genera of Lamiaceae". United States Department of Agriculture. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/gnlist.pl?619.
- ^ "Angiosperm Phylogeny Website - Lamiales". Missouri Botanical Garden. http://www.mobot.org/mobot/research/APweb/orders/lamialesweb.htm#Lamiales.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lamiaceae |
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Wikispecies has information related to: Lamiaceae |
- Lamiaceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval. http://delta-intkey.com
- Lamiaceae images
- Family Lamiaceae Flowers in Israel
- Chilean Lamiaceae Chileflora
- Family Lamiaceae (Labiatae) Plant Life Forms
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Lamiaceae". Read more |
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