The Hydrophyllaceae, or waterleaf family, are a family of flowering plants. Their taxonomic position is somewhat uncertain. Traditionally, and under the Cronquist system, they were treated as part of the orderSolanales, as shown in the table at the right. However, newer systems remove them from that order. They are closely related to the large borage family, Boraginaceae, and have at times been placed in an order Boraginales with them, but modern sources do not recognise this order. Recent recommendations are to merge this family with the Boraginaceae, but this family currently has no agreed placement at ordinal level.
Plants in this family may be annual or perennial herbs or shrubs, with either a prostrate or an erect stem. Most have a taproot. The flowers are bisexual, and normally radial, with 5 petals and 5 stamens. About 20 genera, containing around 300 species, are recognised; many of them are native to the western United States.
OU researchers isolate microorganisms that convert hydrocarbons to natural gas Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400 (University of Oklahoma) When a group of University of Oklahoma researchers began studying the environmental fate of spilt petroleum, a problem that has plagued the energy industry for decades, they did not expect to eventually isolate a community of microorganisms capable of converting hydrocarbons into natural gas. Candy-coating keeps proteins sweet Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400 (National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)) Researchers at NIST have developed a fast, inexpensive and effective method for evaluating the sugars pharmaceutical companies use to stabilize protein-based drugs for storage at room temperature. UH researchers win top prize for research with humanitarian applications Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400 (University of Houston) Understanding how microbes govern human and environmental health, two University of Houston researchers -- Yuriy Fofanov and Lennart Johnsson -- understand that what we don't see often carries big-picture implications. They've garnered international recognition for applying such vision while creating technologies to help monitor the sizes and genomic diversity of microbial communities. They were named winners of the second-annual Itanium Solutions Alliance Innovation Contest for the humanitarian applications of their team's research.