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Learn about the comparison between Araceae and Musaceae.
Comparison # Araceae:
1. Habit-Usually perennial hebrs, or woody, tree-like erect prostrate or climbing sap acrid or milky.
2. Roots-Adventitious, aerial or epiphytic in climbing plants.
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3. Stem-Underground, tubers or corms.
4. Leaf- Radical or cauline, and alternate, simple or compound, parallel-vined (Acorus) or reticulate (Arisaema) long-petioled, cordate, sagittate or hastate, entire or lobed, exstipulate.
5. Inflorescence-Spadix, enclosed in a long spathe.
6. Flower-Small, sessile actinomorphic, unisexual, rarely bisexual.
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7. Perianth-Absent (Calla and Colocasia) or 4 (Anthurium) or 6 (Acarus), free or in two whorls or united.
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8. Androecium-Stamens many or reduced to 4-10 or even 1 (Arisaema) arranged in one or two whorls.
9. Gynoecium-Carpels 1-∞, ovary superior, 1-3- celled with 1-∞ ovules in each loculus, basal placentation.
10. Fruit-Usually berry.
11. Seed-Few to many, endospermic or non-endospermic.
Comparison # Musaceae:
1. Habit-Usually perennial herbs, rarely trees (Ravenala).
2. Roots-Adventitious.
3. Stem-Underground rhizome in Musa, the so-called apparent erect stem is formed by long, stiff leaf sheaths, which are rolled around one another.
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4. Leaf- Simple, large, spiral, unicostate parallel, entire or the lamina split, leaf sheath rolled up and overlapping, exstipulate.
5. Inflorescence-Terminal pendulous spike or panicle subtended by bright-coloured red or green spathe-like bracts.
6. Flower-Large, often coloured, unisexual (Musa) or bisexual (Ravenala), zygomorphic, epigynous and trimerous.
7. Perianth-6 sepals, arranged in 2 whorls, free or united, petaloid. In Musa, the perianth lobes of the outer and inner whorls except the inner median one unite forming a tube.
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8. Androecium-Stamens 6, free usually 5 functional, 6th absent or rudimentary.
9. Gynoecium-Carpels 3, syncarpous, ovary inferior, trilocular, ovules many, axile placentation.
10. Fruit-Berry or capsule, dehiscent or indehiscent.
11. Seed-Few to many hard, arillate Ravenala non-endospermic.
