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Commicarpus Standl.

Reference
Contr.Bolus Herb. p373 (1909)
Name Status
Current
Image

Scientific Description

Family Nyctaginaceae.

Habit and leaf form. Shrubs. Leaves cauline. Young stems cylindrical. Stem internodes solid. Mesophytic. Leaves opposite; petiolate; simple. Leaf blades entire; ovate (to deltoid); one-veined (entire or sinuate or undulate); cross-venulate; cordate to cuneate at the base (subcordate). Leaves without stipules. Leaf anatomy. Hairs present, or absent; glandular hairs present. Stem anatomy. Secondary thickening anomalous; via concentric cambia.

Reproductive type, pollination. Fertile flowers hermaphrodite. Unisexual flowers absent. Plants hermaphrodite.

Inflorescence and flower features. Flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’; in umbels (capitula or branched verticels or unbranched verticels). The terminal inflorescence unit cymose. Inflorescences terminal, or axillary; with involucral bracts, or without involucral bracts; pseudanthial, or not pseudanthial. Flowers pedicellate (pedicels glabrous or sparsely glandular viscid); bracteate (small). Bracts deciduous. Flowers bracteolate (small, herbaceous or membranous or often glandular); small, or medium-sized; regular; cyclic; tricyclic. Free hypanthium absent. Perianth sepaline; 5; 1 -whorled; joined. Calyx present; (i.e. the perianth) (3–)5(–8); 1 -whorled; gamosepalous; blunt-lobed; valvate, or plicate in bud; tubular, or funnel-shaped (or trumpet shaped); regular; white, or pink, or purple (magenta-purple); base persistent. Corolla absent. Androecial members definite in number. Androecium 2–6. Androecial sequence determinable, or not determinable. Androecial members adnate (to the perianth tube), or free of the perianth; markedly unequal; free of one another, or coherent; if coherent, 1 - adelphous (the filaments basally connate); 1 -whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 2–6; all more or less similar in shape; hypogonous; inflexed in bud. Anthers dehiscing via longitudinal slits; introrse; tetrasporangiate. Gynoecium 1 carpelled. The pistil 1 celled. Carpels reduced in number relative to the perianth. Gynoecium monomerous; of one carpel; superior. Carpel stylate; apically stigmatic; 1 ovuled. Placentation basal. Ovary stipitate (shortly stipitate). Ovules ascending; non-arillate; campylotropous, or hemianatropous.

Fruit and seed features. Fruit non-fleshy. The fruiting carpel indehiscent; an achene, or nucular. Fruit 1 celled; 1 seeded. Seeds endospermic, or non-endospermic. Perisperm present. Embryo well differentiated (large). Cotyledons 2. Embryo curved, or straight, or bent.

Etymology. From the Greek for "gum" and "fruit", referring to the viscid fruits.