Taxonomy of Angiosperms # Part II# Families of Dicotyledons # Primitive characters of Magnoliaceae

       Primitive characters of Magnoliaceae                 Hutchinson,1959has treated Magnoliaceae as the most primitive family among the Angiosperm in his famous book"Families of Flowering Plants"due to the following characters :             

                        

    (1) Spiral arrangement of stamens and apocarpous pistils on the elongated and conical axis.                                                        (2) Presence of tracheids with bordered. pits in the wood of the genus Drimys is  Gymnosperm character.                                   

(3) The receptacle of the genus Magnolia is compared to the strobilus of Bennettites as the both bear spirally arranged sporophylls.     

(4) Stamens have broad filaments , another lobes long, median to sub- marginal.              

 (5) Presence of copious endosperm  in the seed .           

  In Hutchinson's system it  ranks as the 1st family, similarly in Takhtajan's system 3rd and 6 th in Cornquist's system of classification. Hallier considered that Magnoliaceae is connected with   Bennettitale -like ancestors due to the free carpelled nature.     

  Hencee ,Magnoliaceae is treated as one of the most primitive family among the Dicotyledons.