Moraceae and Casuarinaceae- Introduction

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Moraceae
(Mulberry family)



Plants of this family are mostly trees (Ficus benghalensis, F. religiosa, Morus alba) or shrubs with milky juice, rarely herbs (Dorstenia) or climbers (Ficus benjamina); aerial prop roots grow vertically downward, enter the soil and provide support to the plant in several species of Ficus (Ficus benghalensis). 
Stem is woody, contains milky, sticky latex in long sacs, specially in secondary cortex and phloem (Ficus elastica, rubber plant)
Leaf simple, palmately or pinnately veined, alternate; usually with 2 caducous stipules; petiolate; leathery; margin entire (Ficus), serrate (Morus) or lobed; on falling, the caducous stipules leave a semicircular scar in Ficus.
Inflorescence: Basic plan is cymose, but the flowers are grouped in variously shaped clusters of racemes, spikes, umbels, heads, or catkins, or even on the inside of a hollow receptacle i.e. syconium or hypanthodium. Plants may be monoecious or dioecious. In Morus female flowers are arranged in pseudospikes while male flowers in catkins; in Broussonetia the female flowers are arranged in pseudoheads while male flowers in pseudoracemes; in Artocarpus female flowers in pseudoheads while male flowers in pseudocatkins; in the syconium of Ficus, the male flowers are arranged towards the ostiole in the hollow cavity, while rest of the cavity is occupied by female flowers, as in F. carica.
Fruits and seeds: Fruit an achene or drupe-like, but usually a multiple fruit developing from the union of fruits of several different flowers; several achenes develop inside the fleshy receptacle in Ficus; in Morus several fruits are enclosed in individual fleshy perianth and collectively called a sorosis. Seeds are with or without endosperm, and usually with curved embryo.
Pollination: In Morus the anthers of male inflorescence dehisce and their pollens are carried by wind to the prominent paired stigmas of the female flowers. Pollination in Ficus cardiac is effected by a female insect (Blastophaga psenes).



A family of 53 genera and 1,400 species, Moraceae are distributed mainly in tropical and subtropical regions of the world, a few are also found in temperate regions. About 15 genera and over 150 species have been reported from India. 
Selected Indian genera are: 
    • Artocarpus, 
    • Broussonetia, 
    • Ficus and 
    • Morus.

Economic Importance

Moraceae are important from the economic point of view in providing several fruit plants, ornamentals, rubber plant and medicinal plants as under:

Fruit plants belonging to Moraceae include-
    • Morus nigra (black mulberry)
    • Morus alba (white mulberry)
    • Morus serrata (Himalayan mulberry)
    • Ficus carica (fig)
    • Ficus palmata (anjiri)
    • Artocarpus heterophyllus syn. A. integrifolia (jackfruit)
    • A. incisia (bread fruit)
    • A. lakoocha (monkey fruit)
Sacred trees used in religious ceremonies  and also for shade include
    • Ficus benghalensis (banyan tree)
    • Ficus religiosa (peepal)
    • F. glomerata (goolar)
    • F. virens syn. F. infectoria
Paper is obtained from the fibre present in the inner bark of Broussonetia papyrifera (paper mulberry)

Rubber is obtained from the latex of Ficus elastica (Indian rubber plant) and Castilla elastica (Panama rubber).

Leaves of Morus alba and M. nigra are used to feed silkworms.

Timber utilised in the manufacture of sport goods and several other articles is obtained from:
    • Morus alba
    • M. serrata
    • Ficus sycomorus
    • Artocarpus altilis
    • A. chaplasha
    • A. hirsuta
Plants of medicinal value include:
    • Morus alba and M. nigra bark is used as a purgative and vermifuge,
    • Ficus benghalensis and F. rumphii latex is used as a anthelmintic,
    • Streblus asper latex is used as a sedative in neuralgia,
    • Antiaris toxicaria latex is used as a cardiac stimulant.
Fibre obtained from the bark of Ficus articulate and F. semicordata is used for making ropes.





Casuarinaceae
(Casuarina family)

Plants of this family are xerophytic, evergreen, shrubs or trees with Equisetum-like jointed stem; minute, whorled scaly leaves; unisexual flowers; fruit woody, cone like.
Stem woody, much branched, with jointed, whorled or striate branches having prominent nodes and internodes; internodes with longitudinal ridges and grooves. Anatomically, the stem contains 
    1. ridges and grooves,
    2. thick cuticle,
    3. sunken stomata in grooves protected by long hair,
    4. sclerenchyma and green palisade parenchyma in the ridges,
    5. vascular bundles in two alternate rings,
    6. wood contains vessels, tracheas, fibres and parenchyma.
Leaf scale like, 4-16 on each node, whorled, minute, basally connate forming a sheath around the node, usually linear or lanceolate; leaf tips appear only as minute teeth; leaves resemble with that of Ephedra and Equisetum.
Inflorescence: male flowers arranged in catkin like erect spikes while the female flowers usually in in spherical heads; in both male and female branches the internodes are short; plants are monoecious or dioecious.
Fruits and Seeds: Fruit usually a 1-seeded, small winged samara surrounded by 2 woody bracteole and a bract; several such fruits remain arranged together to form cone-like dry multiple fruit. Seeds are non-endospermic and the embryo is straight.

Economic Importance

Casuarina is important mainly as a timber tree. The wood of C. equisetifolia, C. cunninghamia and C. stricta is used for tanning. C. equisetifolia is usually grown as an ornamental and also in order to reclaim sandy dunes in India and several countries.
It is a monotypic or unigeneric family represented by only one genus (Casuarina) with about 65 species distributed mainly in north-east Australia and also in Fiji, New Cladonia, Malaysia and Mascarene islands. Only one species (Casuarina equisetifolia) occurs in India, and this is the most common species of the world.






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