Aphloiaceae

Abstract

Evergreen shrubs or slender trees, entirely glabrous. Leaves persistent, alternate, serrate or serrulate, rarely subentire, penninerved, petiolate; stipules minute, caducous. Flowers hermaphrodite, axillary, solitary or in few-flowered racemes or fascicles, sweet-scented; bracts scale-like, minute; pedicels with 1–3 scaly bracteoles in the lower half; perianth uniseriate; sepals 4–5(6), white, turning yellowish, free except at the base, imbricate, orbicular, the inner 3 more membranous and petaloid; petals 0; stamens very numerous, free, inserted towards the outer edge of a glandular disk; filaments filiform; anthers small, orbicular, introrse, basi fixed near the base; gynoecium monomerous; ovary superior, ellipsoid, sessile or shortly stipitate, 1-locular; placentation lateral with 6–8 alternating ovules in 2 rows; ovules campylotropous; stigma sessile, large, capitate-bilobed and somewhat decurrent on ventral side. Fruit a fleshy, white berry with persistent perianth and about 6 obovate seeds; testa crustaceous, smooth, whitish, glossy; embryo incurved; endosperm sparse. A monogeneric family with a single polymorphic (or 8?)species in eastern and South Africa, Madagascar including the Comores, and the Mascarenes and Seychelles.

Keywords

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