= Rosaceae
{c}
<Rosaceae> is the <flowering plant> family containing <roses>, <apples>, <peaches> and <strawberries>. It includes herbs, shrubs and trees, so a shared growth habit is not its defining feature. Its <flowers> typically have five <petals> and a <hypanthium>, a cup or platform associated with the attachment of floral parts. The number and arrangement of <carpels>, and their relation to the <hypanthium>, vary substantially across the family.<Rosaceae in New South Wales Flora Online>[family description, hypanthium, carpels and cultivated examples]{ref}
The family's <fruits> make an illuminating anatomical comparison. A <peach> is a <drupe>, with flesh surrounding a hard stone that encloses the <seed>. An <apple> is a <pome>, in which tissues surrounding the seed-bearing core contribute much of the edible flesh. In a <strawberry>, the enlarged <receptacle (botany)> carries many small dry fruits on its surface. A familiar edible object can therefore involve different parts of the <flower>, rather than always being one enlarged <ovary (botany)>.<Rosaceae in New South Wales Flora Online>[fruit types and diagnostic subfamily distinctions]{ref}
For a practical comparison, cut each fruit lengthwise and locate the <seeds> before identifying the fleshy tissue. This observation connects the mature structure back to the arrangement of <carpels> and surrounding floral tissue. Fruit type is useful evidence within <Rosaceae>, while variation in that type is compatible with membership in one evolutionary family.
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