Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Glabrous trees or shrubs.

Stems: Stems and other parts with a strong carrot-like odor when cut, secretory canals present in most parts.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves compound (palmate). Opposite. Blades with 3–5(–7) leaflets. Leaflets, midvein, margins, petiolule, and petiole usually tinged purple, petiolule often laterally compressed. Margins entire or toothed. Petioles base often broad and sheathing the stem. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in terminal, erect, oppositely branched panicles of umbellules. Bracts minute, subconnate, persistent, forming an involucel below the umbellules and pseudocalyx below each flower, pedicels jointed below the ovary. Flowers bisexual (perfect) and functionally staminate (the plants andromonoecious). Calyx of 5 short, basally connate teeth. Corolla of 5(6) petals, buds dark purple, purple externally, greenish within, valvate, caducous, triangular to ovate or oblong, apex inflexed. Stamens usually as many as and alternate with the petals, sometimes numerous, distinct, inserted at the edge of the epigynous nectary disk; 5, pale yellow, spreading. Ovary inferior, 2–5-carpellate, carpels connate (rarely pseudomonomerous), with as many cells; ovules pendulous, 2 per cell, 1 abortive; styles 2–5, distinct, connate more than 1⁄2 their length, or occasionally completely connate, when connate forming a short, conical stylopodium, the distinct arms ascending to spreading, each with a stigma on the upper surface.

Fruit: Drupes green; ripening dark purple; exocarp fleshy; globose; or laterally compressed and orbicular or oblate to ovoid or obovoid; 3–7.5 mm long; pyrenes cartilaginous; laterally compressed; as many as styles. [Gaudichaud–Beaupé; 1830; Gray; 1854a; Heller; 1897; Herat; 1981; Hochreutiner; 1925; Krajina; 1931; Leveille; 1911a; St. John; 1959; Seemann; 1864–1868; Sherff; 1951c; 1952a; 1954a; 1962]. Seeds 1 per pyrene; embryo small.

Ploidy:

Habitat:

Elevation Range: