Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Trees, shrubs, or climbers, wood and leaves often aromatic; indument of simple or less often (Uvaria, Annona) stellate hairs.

Stems:

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Alternate, normally distichous. Margins entire. Veins pinnate. Petioles usually short. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in terminal, axillary, leaf–opposed, or extra-axillary inforecences [rarely on underground suckerlike shoots]. Flowers usually bisexual (perfect), less often unisexual, solitary, in fascicles, glomerules, panicles, or cymes, sometimes on older wood, usually bracteate and/or bracteolate. Calyx of (2)3 sepals; sepals imbricate or valvate, persistent or deciduous, rarely enlarging and enclosing fruit, free or basally connate. Corolla of 3–6(–12) petals, most often in 2 whorls of 3 or in 1 whorl of 3 or 4[or 6], hypogynous, imbricate or valvate, sometimes outer whorl valvate and inner slightly imbricate. Stamens hypogynous, usually numerous, rarely few, spirally imbricate, in several series; filaments very short and thick; anther locules 2, contiguous or separate, rarely transversely locular, adnate to connective, extrorse or lateral, very rarely introrse, opening by a longitudinal slit; connectives often apically enlarged, usually ± truncate, often overtopping anther locules, rarely elongated or not produced. Ovary superior; carpels few to many, rarely solitary, free or less often connate into a 1-locular ovary with parietal placentas; ovules 1 or 2 inserted at base of carpel or 1 to several in 1 or 2 ranks along ventral suture, anatropous; styles short, thick, free or rarely connate; stigmas capitate to oblong, sometimes sulcate or 2-lobed.

Fruit: Fruit usually apocarpous with 1 to many free monocarps; these sometimes moniliform (constricted between seeds when more than 1–seeded); often fleshy; indehiscent; rarely dehiscent (Anaxagorea; Xylopia); and often with base extended into stipe; rarely on slender carpophore (Disepalum); less often syncarpous with carpels completely connate and seeds irregularly arranged and sometimes embedded in fleshy pulp. Seeds 1 to many per monocarp or many per syncarp; often arillate; endosperm copious; ruminate; embryo minute; near hilum.

Ploidy:

Habitat:

Elevation Range: