Pemphis J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.

Scientific Description

Family Lythraceae.

Habit and leaf form. Trees, or shrubs. Young stems cylindrical, or tetragonal. Helophytic to xerophytic. Leaves opposite; decussate; subsessile; gland-dotted, or not gland-dotted; simple. Leaf blades entire; elliptic, or oblong, or ovate, or obovate; pinnately veined; cross-venulate; attenuate at the base. Leaves with stipules (vestigial), or without stipules. Leaf blade margins entire. Leaves without a persistent basal meristem. Stem anatomy. Secondary thickening developing from a conventional cambial ring.

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

Inflorescence and flower features. Flowers solitary; axillary; pedicellate; bracteolate; minute to medium-sized; regular; 6 merous; pentacyclic. Floral receptacle developing an androphore, or with neither androphore nor gynophore. Free hypanthium present; campanulate; striate; sinus appendages shorter than sepals. Hypogynous disk present, or absent. Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla; (3–)8–16(–32); 2 -whorled; isomerous. Calyx present; 6; 1 -whorled; gamosepalous; blunt-lobed; lobes valvate; tubular, or campanulate, or urceolate; unequal but not bilabiate, or regular; persistent. Epicalyx present, or absent. Corolla present; 6; 1 -whorled; polypetalous; plicate; unequal but not bilabiate, or regular; white, or pink (tinged). Petals elliptic, or obovate, or orbicular; very shortly clawed, or sessile. Androecium 12. Androecial sequence determinable, or not determinable. Androecial members when determinable, maturing centripetally; adnate (to the hypanthium, low down); markedly unequal; free of one another; 1–3 -whorled (or several). Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 12 (in 2 whorls); attached inside the hypanthium; all more or less similar in shape; reduced in number relative to the adjacent perianth to isomerous with the perianth to polystemonous; alternisepalous, or oppositisepalous; inflexed in bud, or erect in bud. Anthers dorsifixed; versatile; dehiscing via longitudinal slits; introrse; tetrasporangiate. Gynoecium 3 carpelled. The pistil 1 celled, or 2 celled. Gynoecium syncarpous; eu-syncarpous; superior. Ovary plurilocular (below); 1 locular (above), or 2 locular (below); stipitate. Gynoecium stylate. Styles 1; apical. Stigmas 1; capitate. Placentation axile. Ovules (1–)5–50 per locule; ascending, or horizontal; non-arillate; anatropous.

Fruit and seed features. Fruit non-fleshy; dehiscent; a capsule. Capsules circumscissile. Seeds non-endospermic; wingless. Cotyledons 2. Embryo straight.

Etymology. From the Greek for "a swelling", in reference to the fruit.