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Flowering Plants · Eudicots pp 250–259Cite as

Melianthaceae

Melianthaceae Bercht. & J. Presl (1820), nom. cons. Greyiaceae Hutch. (1926).

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Part of the The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants book series (FAMILIES GENERA,volume 9)

Abstract

Perennial, rhizomatous herbs (Francoa, Tetilla), suffrutices (Melianthus), woody shrubs or small trees (Greyia, Bersama). Leaves alternate, persistent or deciduous, glabrous or villous, petiolate, simple or imparipinnate, entire, serrate or lobed; venation palmate or pinnate; leaf bases simple or amplexicaul. Stipules absent or present, if present lateral or median, persistent or caducous. Inflorescences lateral or terminal, simple or compound racemes. Flowers resupinated or not, monosymmetric or polysymmetric, tetramerous or pentamerous, bisexual or functionally unisexual (Bersama), sometimes with a prominent mentum (Melianthus); perianth glabrous or with glandular multicellular hairs and/or simple unicellular hairs. Sepals 4 or 5, polysymmetric or monosymmetric, less or more prominent than the corolla. Petals 4 or 5, cream, purplish or red, free or connivent with crystalline hairs (Melianthus), smaller to larger than the sepals, polysymmetric or monosymmetric; androecium haplostemonous or obdiplostemonous, sometimes with one or more stamens absent, polysymmetric or monosymmetric (Melianthus); filaments sometimes basally fused, pubescent or glabrous; anthers tetrasporangiate, usually basifixed, dehiscence latrorse. Gynoecium semi-inferior or slightly sunk in the receptacle, 4-5-locular, placentation axile to basal, with one to numerous anatropous ovules on intrusive placentas; style simple, very short to long; stigma small or commissural (Francoa, Tetilla). Fruit a papery, tardily dehiscent capsule, or a leathery to woody septicidal or loculicidal capsule. Seeds usually small (<10 mm) and exarillate or larger (>10 mm) with alargeyellowaril(Bersama).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Systematische Botanik und Botanischer Garten, Universität Zürich, Zollikerstr. 107, 8008, Zürich, Switzerland

    H. P. Linder

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  1. Biozentrum Klein-Flottbek und Botanischer Garten, Universität Hamburg, Ohnhorststraße 18, 22609, Hamburg, Germany

    Klaus Kubitzki

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Linder, H.P. (2007). Melianthaceae. In: Kubitzki, K. (eds) Flowering Plants · Eudicots. The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants, vol 9. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-32219-1_32

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