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- Reference
- Pflanzenr. 23:60 (1905)
- Name Status
- Not Current
Scientific Description
Family Haloragaceae.
Habit and leaf form. Creeping herbs. Perennial. Stem growth not conspicuously sympodial (monopodial). Hydrophytic to helophytic; rooted. Leaves submerged and emergent. Heterophyllous, or not heterophyllous. Leaves alternate, or whorled (crowded, pseudo-verticillate); when alternate, spiral; petiolate to sessile; non-sheathing; simple; epulvinate. Leaf blades dissected (trifid; lobes terete, with a short tooth between them); pinnatifid, or palmately lobed; one-veined, or pinnately veined. Leaves without stipules. Leaf anatomy. Hairs absent.
Reproductive type, pollination. Fertile flowers hermaphrodite, functionally male, and functionally female. Unisexual flowers present and absent. Plants polygamomonoecious. Anemophilous.
Inflorescence and flower features. Flowers solitary. Inflorescences indeterminate spikes of flowers borne singly in the axils of leaf-like bracts. Flowers almost sessile; bracteolate, or ebracteolate; minute to small; regular; 4 merous; cyclic; tetracyclic, or pentacyclic. Free hypanthium absent. Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla; 8; 2 -whorled; isomerous; free. Calyx present; 4; 1 -whorled; polysepalous; valvate; more or less equalling the corolla; regular; persistent. Sepals ovate to linear. Corolla present; 4; 1 -whorled; polypetalous; regular. Petals sessile; hooded; not navicular. Fertile stamens present, or absent. Androecium 4. Androecial members free of the perianth; all equal; free of one another; 1 -whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 4; isomerous with the perianth, or diplostemonous; oppositisepalous; filantherous (with rather large anthers). Anthers basifixed; non-versatile; dehiscing via longitudinal slits; latrorse; tetrasporangiate; appendaged (apiculate); apiculate. Fertile gynoecium present, or absent (male flowers). Gynoecium (2–)3–4 carpelled. The pistil 4 celled. Gynoecium syncarpous; synovarious; inferior. Ovary plurilocular; 4 locular (with well-defined septa). Epigynous disk absent. Styles (2–)3–4 (feathery); free; apical. Placentation apical. Ovules 1 per locule; pendulous; anatropous.
Fruit and seed features. Fruit non-fleshy. Pericarp woody with solid septa. Fruit indehiscent; a drupe. The drupes with separable pyrenes (the 4 pyrenes or mericarps shed as a unit, bound together by the spiny exocarp). Fruit 4 locular. Seeds more or less copiously endospermic. Endosperm oily. Cotyledons 2. Embryo straight.
Special features. Inflorescence indeterminate.
Etymology. After Carl Christian Mez (1866–1944), professor of botany at Halle, Germany.