Vexillary Aestivation in Legumes — NEET Biology
✅ Asked in NEET 2024When sepals or petals in a whorl just touch one another at the margin, without overlapping, as in Calotropis, it is said to be valvate. If one margin of the appendage overlaps that of the next one and so on as in china rose, lady's finger and cotton, it is called twisted. If the margins of sepals or petals overlap one another but not in any particular direction as in Cassia and gulmohar, the aestivation is called imbricate. In pea and bean flowers, there are five petals, the largest (standard) overlaps the two lateral petals (wings) which in turn overlap the two smallest anterior petals (keel); this type of aestivation is known as vexillary or papilionaceous.
Vexillary (papilionaceous) aestivation is the specific arrangement of five petals in pea and bean flowers: one large standard petal overlaps two lateral wing petals, which overlap two smallest anterior keel petals. NTA frequently tests students on identifying this pattern and distinguishing it from other aestivation types (valvate, twisted, imbricate). Students commonly confuse vexillary with imbricate aestivation or fail to remember the hierarchical overlapping sequence. Key to mastery: remember that vexillary is uniquely found in Papilionaceae family flowers with a clear top-to-bottom overlap pattern—standard overlaps wings, wings overlap keel—making it instantly recognizable in NEET diagrams and MCQs.
This paragraph was tested 4 times in NEET.
Match List I with List II LIST-I A. Vexillary aestivation B. Epipetalous stamens C. Epiphyllous stamens D. Perigynous flower LIST-II I. Brinjal II. Peach III. Pea IV. Lily
In Calotropis, aestivation is:
In a pea flower, five petals are arranged in a specialized manner with one posterior, two lateral and two anterior. These are named as __, __ and __ respectively. [NEET 2023 ]
Which one of the following plants shows vexillary aestivation and diadelphous stamens?
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