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40-596: Galax , the wandplant , wandflower , or beetleweed , is a genus in the flowering plant family Diapensiaceae , containing a single species , Galax urceolata ( syn. G. rotundifolia , G. aphylla ). It is native to the southeastern United States from Massachusetts and New York south to northern Alabama , growing mainly in the Appalachian Mountains at altitudes of up to 1,500 m, where it grows in shaded places in forests . Galax urceolata can occur at multiple ploidy levels, an individual may be

80-1827: A molecular phylogeny of plants placed the flowering plants in their evolutionary context: Bryophytes [REDACTED] Lycophytes [REDACTED] Ferns [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The main groups of living angiosperms are: Amborellales [REDACTED] 1 sp. New Caledonia shrub Nymphaeales [REDACTED] c. 80 spp. water lilies & allies Austrobaileyales [REDACTED] c. 100 spp. woody plants Magnoliids [REDACTED] c. 10,000 spp. 3-part flowers, 1-pore pollen, usu. branch-veined leaves Chloranthales [REDACTED] 77 spp. Woody, apetalous Monocots [REDACTED] c. 70,000 spp. 3-part flowers, 1 cotyledon , 1-pore pollen, usu. parallel-veined leaves   Ceratophyllales [REDACTED] c. 6 spp. aquatic plants Eudicots [REDACTED] c. 175,000 spp. 4- or 5-part flowers, 3-pore pollen, usu. branch-veined leaves Amborellales Melikyan, Bobrov & Zaytzeva 1999 Nymphaeales Salisbury ex von Berchtold & Presl 1820 Austrobaileyales Takhtajan ex Reveal 1992 Chloranthales Mart. 1835 Canellales Cronquist 1957 Piperales von Berchtold & Presl 1820 Magnoliales de Jussieu ex von Berchtold & Presl 1820 Laurales de Jussieu ex von Berchtold & Presl 1820 Acorales Link 1835 Alismatales Brown ex von Berchtold & Presl 1820 Petrosaviales Takhtajan 1997 Dioscoreales Brown 1835 Pandanales Brown ex von Berchtold & Presl 1820 Liliales Perleb 1826 Asparagales Link 1829 Arecales Bromhead 1840 Poales Small 1903 Zingiberales Grisebach 1854 Commelinales de Mirbel ex von Berchtold & Presl 1820 Andr%C3%A9 Michaux Michaux

120-405: A Dutch botanist. In 1739, Gronovius published The Flora of Virginia , where "Anonymos or Belvedere" is the plant long known as Galax aphylla . Clayton provided Gronovius with four samples, all which were destroyed in a series of unfortunate events. Many years later, John Mitchell assumed he had collected Galax aphylla and took a ship to bring the specimen to Carl Linnaeus ; however, his boat

160-402: A diploid (2x), triploid (3x), or autotetraploid (4x) ( autopolyploid ). The cytotypes are neither morphologically nor geographically distinct, though there are slight climatic differences between the diploid and autotetraploid types. Outcrossing is likely to occur among cytotypes as well. It is an evergreen herbaceous perennial plant growing to 30–45 cm (rarely 75 cm) tall, with

200-424: A rosette of leathery leaves , which turn brown during winter. The leaves are a rounded cardioid (heart) shape, 2.5–7.5 cm diameter, rarely up to 15 cm, with a serrated margin with rounded "teeth". The flowers are produced in late spring to early summer, white in color and on a single spike -like raceme 15–25 cm long on top of a 20–50 cm tall stem. Each individual flower has five petals , and

240-610: A total of 64 angiosperm orders and 416 families. The diversity of flowering plants is not evenly distributed. Nearly all species belong to the eudicot (75%), monocot (23%), and magnoliid (2%) clades. The remaining five clades contain a little over 250 species in total; i.e. less than 0.1% of flowering plant diversity, divided among nine families. The 25 most species-rich of 443 families, containing over 166,000 species between them in their APG circumscriptions, are: The botanical term "angiosperm", from Greek words angeíon ( ἀγγεῖον 'bottle, vessel') and spérma ( σπέρμα 'seed'),

280-607: A valuable little book of his travels. He is now publishing his account of our trees, which will be extremely interesting. It demonstrates that we (not the whole continent, but the United States alone) have three times the number of useful trees that Europe can boast..." Burr's cited quote would apply equally to both Michaux', father and son, and perhaps more to the son, who had been in America a total of some 6 years, and had recently (1804) written about his travels in America, and

320-579: A year later giving birth to their son, François André. Michaux then took up the study of botany and became a student of Bernard de Jussieu . In 1779 he spent time studying botany in England, and in 1780 he explored Auvergne , the Pyrenees and northern Spain. In 1782 he was sent by the French government as secretary to the French consul on a botanical mission to Persia . His journey began unfavourably, as he

360-858: Is starting to impact plants and is likely to cause many species to become extinct by 2100. Angiosperms are terrestrial vascular plants; like the gymnosperms, they have roots , stems , leaves , and seeds . They differ from other seed plants in several ways. The largest angiosperms are Eucalyptus gum trees of Australia, and Shorea faguetiana , dipterocarp rainforest trees of Southeast Asia, both of which can reach almost 100 metres (330 ft) in height. The smallest are Wolffia duckweeds which float on freshwater, each plant less than 2 millimetres (0.08 in) across. Considering their method of obtaining energy, some 99% of flowering plants are photosynthetic autotrophs , deriving their energy from sunlight and using it to create molecules such as sugars . The remainder are parasitic , whether on fungi like

400-558: Is occasionally grown as an ornamental plant in gardens. The independent city of Galax, Virginia , is named after this plant. Flowering plant Basal angiosperms Core angiosperms Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits , and form the clade Angiospermae ( / ˌ æ n dʒ i ə ˈ s p ər m iː / ). The term 'angiosperm' is derived from the Greek words ἀγγεῖον / angeion ('container, vessel') and σπέρμα / sperma ('seed'), meaning that

440-600: Is up to 4 mm ( 5 ⁄ 32  in) in diameter . The fruit is a small capsule containing numerous seeds . The genus name Galax comes from the Greek word "gala" which means "milk", describing Galax 's white flowers. Around 1730, Galax was collected by John Clayton , due to his friendship with Mark Catesby , an English naturalist who had just arrived in Virginia. Based on Catesby's recommendation, Clayton ended up sending his specimens to Jan Frederik Gronovius ,

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480-491: The Alismatales grow in marine environments, spreading with rhizomes that grow through the mud in sheltered coastal waters. Some specialised angiosperms are able to flourish in extremely acid or alkaline habitats. The sundews , many of which live in nutrient-poor acid bogs , are carnivorous plants , able to derive nutrients such as nitrate from the bodies of trapped insects. Other flowers such as Gentiana verna ,

520-690: The American Philosophical Society asked Thomas Jefferson to draft a "subscription list" to raise funds to Explore the interior of North America, from the Mississippi River along the Missouri , and westward to the Pacific Ocean . Jefferson personally drew it up and secured 30 signatures, himself included, of influential, wealthy supporters, pledging various amounts to finance it: Jefferson personally drafted

560-611: The Jardin des Plantes , Paris, who had emigrated with Michaux, failed because of the harsh winters. In 1787, Michaux established and maintained for a decade a botanical garden of 111 acres near what is now Aviation Avenue in North Charleston, South Carolina , from which he made many expeditions to various parts of North America. Michaux described and named many North American species during this time. Between 1785 and 1791 he shipped ninety cases of plants and many seeds to France. At

600-460: The orchids for part or all of their life-cycle, or on other plants , either wholly like the broomrapes, Orobanche , or partially like the witchweeds, Striga . In terms of their environment, flowering plants are cosmopolitan, occupying a wide range of habitats on land, in fresh water and in the sea. On land, they are the dominant plant group in every habitat except for frigid moss-lichen tundra and coniferous forest . The seagrasses in

640-481: The seeds are enclosed within a fruit. The group was formerly called Magnoliophyta . Angiosperms are by far the most diverse group of land plants with 64 orders , 416 families , approximately 13,000 known genera and 300,000 known species . They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem ), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of broad-leaved trees , shrubs and vines , and most aquatic plants . Angiosperms are distinguished from

680-892: The "Big Five" extinction events in Earth's history, only the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event had occurred while angiosperms dominated plant life on the planet. Today, the Holocene extinction affects all kingdoms of complex life on Earth, and conservation measures are necessary to protect plants in their habitats in the wild ( in situ ), or failing that, ex situ in seed banks or artificial habitats like botanic gardens . Otherwise, around 40% of plant species may become extinct due to human actions such as habitat destruction , introduction of invasive species , unsustainable logging , land clearing and overharvesting of medicinal or ornamental plants . Further, climate change

720-725: The East and of America. In 1800, on his visit to the United States, Pierre Samuel Du Pont de Nemours , concerned about the abandoned botanical gardens, wrote to the Institut de France , who sent over Michaux's son François André Michaux to sell the properties. He sold the garden near Charleston, but the concern expressed by Du Pont and his son Eleuthère Irénée du Pont preserved the New Jersey garden in Saunier's care and continued to support it. Saunier continued to send seeds to France for

760-561: The Governor of Kentucky. On his return to France in 1796 he was shipwrecked, however most of his specimens survived. His two American gardens declined. Saunier, his salary unpaid, cultivated potatoes and hay and paid taxes on the New Jersey property, which is now still remembered as "The Frenchman's Garden", part of Machpelah Cemetery in North Bergen . In 1800, Michaux sailed with Nicolas Baudin 's expedition to Australia, but left

800-623: The United States in 1785 with an annual salary of 2000 livres , to make the first organized investigation of plants that could be of value in French building and carpentry, medicine and agriculture. He traveled with his son François André Michaux (1770–1855) through Canada and the United States. In 1786, Michaux attempted to establish a horticultural garden of thirty acres in Bergen's Wood on the Hudson Palisades near Hackensack, New Jersey . The garden, overseen by Pierre-Paul Saunier from

840-818: The dominant group of plants across the planet. Agriculture is almost entirely dependent on angiosperms, and a small number of flowering plant families supply nearly all plant-based food and livestock feed. Rice , maize and wheat provide half of the world's staple calorie intake, and all three plants are cereals from the Poaceae family (colloquially known as grasses). Other families provide important industrial plant products such as wood , paper and cotton , and supply numerous ingredients for beverages , sugar production , traditional medicine and modern pharmaceuticals . Flowering plants are also commonly grown for decorative purposes , with certain flowers playing significant cultural roles in many societies. Out of

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880-659: The flowering plants as an unranked clade without a formal Latin name (angiosperms). A formal classification was published alongside the 2009 revision in which the flowering plants rank as the subclass Magnoliidae. From 1998, the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) has reclassified the angiosperms, with updates in the APG II system in 2003, the APG III system in 2009, and the APG IV system in 2016. In 2019,

920-475: The instructions ( aka prospectus) for Michaux to lead the project. At the time Michaux's exploration was proposed, Meriwether Lewis (1774–1809) – an 18-year-old protégé of Jefferson – asked to be included, but was turned down by Jefferson. According to presidential historian Michael Edward Purdy (1954–2023), the "subscription list" stands as the only document of any kind signed by the first four presidents: Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and Madison. Before Michaux

960-518: The manner of vines or lianas . The number of species of flowering plants is estimated to be in the range of 250,000 to 400,000. This compares to around 12,000 species of moss and 11,000 species of pteridophytes . The APG system seeks to determine the number of families , mostly by molecular phylogenetics . In the 2009 APG III there were 415 families. The 2016 APG IV added five new orders (Boraginales, Dilleniales, Icacinales, Metteniusales and Vahliales), along with some new families, for

1000-513: The name Galax aphylla with respect to the International Code of Nomenclature of Plants. Between March 1803 and September 1804, Galax was rediscovered and renamed five times. Any time the new name referred to Mitchell's description, it was invalidated. The name that is considered valid, since it pre-dates all other names and follows the rules of nomenclature, was Pyrola urceolata Poir., named by Jean Louis Marie Poiret . Despite

1040-567: The other major seed plant clade, the gymnosperms , by having flowers , xylem consisting of vessel elements instead of tracheids , endosperm within their seeds, and fruits that completely envelop the seeds. The ancestors of flowering plants diverged from the common ancestor of all living gymnosperms before the end of the Carboniferous , over 300 million years ago. In the Cretaceous , angiosperms diversified explosively , becoming

1080-453: The rest of his life, and is credited with introducing into gardens the chinquapin ( Castanea pumila ) and the smoking bean tree ( Catalpa bignonioides ). Aaron Burr recorded meeting Michaux in Paris on September 17, 1810, but this was apparently Francois Andre Michaux, the son. According to Burr he went "to Michaux's, the botanist, who was many years in the United States, and has written

1120-563: The same time he introduced many species to America from various parts of the world, including Camellia , tea-olive , and crepe myrtle . After the collapse of the French monarchy, André Michaux, who was a royal botanist, lost his source of income. He solicited support for an American funded Exploration under the auspices of the American Philosophical Society . In 1793, a decade before the Lewis and Clark Expedition , with no federal funding available, David Rittenhouse (1732–1796), President of

1160-526: The ship in Mauritius . During the expedition, Michaux was accompanied by an African slave he owned named Merlot. Michaux then went to Madagascar to investigate the flora of that island. Michaux died at Tamatave in Madagascar of a tropical fever at around 9 a.m. on 11 October 1802. His work as a botanist was chiefly done in the field, and he added largely to what was previously known of the botany of

1200-568: The spring gentian, are adapted to the alkaline conditions found on calcium -rich chalk and limestone , which give rise to often dry topographies such as limestone pavement . As for their growth habit , the flowering plants range from small, soft herbaceous plants , often living as annuals or biennials that set seed and die after one growing season, to large perennial woody trees that may live for many centuries and grow to many metres in height. Some species grow tall without being self-supporting like trees by climbing on other plants in

1240-659: The validity of this name, Pyrola never caught on. Around this time Galax urceolata was cultivated in Europe; many descriptions came from the cultivated line (presumably sent by John Clayton), and the plant referred to as "Galax" was gaining popularity. In 1972, Brummitt argued that the genus name should remain Galax , but the specific epithet should be urceolata ; therefore, he renamed it Galax urceolata (Poir.) Brummitt. However, many herbaria still label this specimen with its original invalid name, Galax aphylla. The type specimen

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1280-508: The younger Michaux should have been credited. In 2004, American botanist James Lauritz Reveal (1941–2015) asserted: Flora Boreali-Americana has 36 engraved plates (numbered 1–36). Thirty-two are from drawings by Pierre Joseph Redouté ( wikidata Q551638 ) ( Austrian Netherlands → present-day Belgium ; 1759–1840) and 4 are from drawings by his younger brother, Henry Joseph Redouté (fr) ( Austrian Netherlands → present-day Belgium ; 1766–1852). Auguste Plée (1787–1825) engraved 33 of

1320-433: Was attacked by pirates, who took all the specimens as part of their plunder . Prior to the voyage, he had sent descriptions of all the specimens to colleagues in Europe. When he arrived there, he was able to procure one of his descriptions for Linnaeus. Despite Linnaeus never seeing this specimen of “ Galax ”, he agreed with Mitchell's description; however, the specimen described was, in fact, " Nymophila ", thus invalidating

1360-462: Was born in Satory, part of Versailles , Yvelines , where his father managed farmland on the king's estate. Michaux was trained in the agricultural sciences in anticipation of his one-day assuming his father's duties, and received a basic classical 18th century education, including Latin and some Greek, until he was fourteen. In 1769, he married Cecil Claye, the daughter of a prosperous farmer; she died

1400-483: Was coined in the form "Angiospermae" by Paul Hermann in 1690, including only flowering plants whose seeds were enclosed in capsules. The term angiosperm fundamentally changed in meaning in 1827 with Robert Brown , when angiosperm came to mean a seed plant with enclosed ovules. In 1851, with Wilhelm Hofmeister 's work on embryo-sacs, Angiosperm came to have its modern meaning of all the flowering plants including Dicotyledons and Monocotyledons. The APG system treats

1440-477: Was collected by André Michaux , who had his horses stolen on the journey to collect Galax with John Clayton. Since the prior specimens had been destroyed and the name invalidated, this new specimen would be considered the holotype. The leaves are often harvested for the floristry industry; concern has been expressed over excessive exploitation, and collection is now restricted in many areas. It has also been used in herbalism to treat cuts and kidney ailments. It

1480-587: Was robbed of all his equipment except his books; but he gained influential support in Persia after curing the shah of a dangerous illness. After two years he returned to France with a fine herbarium, and also introduced numerous Eastern plants into the botanical gardens of France. André Michaux was appointed by Louis XVI as Royal botanist under the General Director of the Bâtiments du Roi and sent to

1520-628: Was scheduled to begin, however, he volunteered to assist the French Minister to America, Edmond-Charles Genet . Genet was promoting American support for France's wars with Britain and Spain, aggravating relations between all four nations. George Rogers Clark offered to organize and lead a militia force to capture Louisiana from the Spanish. Michaux's mission was to evaluate Clark's plan and coordinate between Clark's actions and Genet's. Michaux went to Kentucky, but, without adequate funds, Clark

1560-469: Was subsequently working on his later opus on American trees. Michaux wrote two valuable works on North American plants: Flora Boreali-Americana was first published on March 19, 1803 – five months, one week, and one day after the death of André Michaux. Given that it was published posthumously, scholars had expressed doubt over whether Michaux was the only author – some suspected that French botanist Louis Claude Marie Richard (1754–1821) and

1600-422: Was unable to raise the militia and the plan eventually folded. Ultimately, the expedition never took place. It is not true, as sometimes reported, that Thomas Jefferson ordered Michaux to leave the United States after he learned of his involvement with Genet. Though Jefferson did not support Genet's actions, he was aware of Genet's instructions for Michaux and even provided Michaux with letters of introduction to

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