Diplocyclos (Endl.) T.Post & Kuntze

Scientific Description

Family Cucurbitaceae.

Habit and leaf form. Herbs, or herbaceous climbers (or trailing). Perennial. Leaves cauline (ass.). Plants with neither basal nor terminal concentrations of leaves. Stem internodes solid (ass.). Thickened rootstock. Climbing (or trailing); tendril climbers (simple or 2-branched, spiralling above point of branching). Tendrils branched. Mesophytic to xerophytic. Leaves alternate; spiral; petiolate; non-sheathing; simple. Leaf blades dissected (palmately lobed; 3–7 lobes, lanceolate to elliptic, apex acuminate); when simple/dissected, palmately lobed; palmately veined; cross-venulate; cordate. Leaves without stipules (tendrils stipular in position). Leaf blade margins entire (sinuate), or dentate (denticulate to sinuate-dentate). Leaves without a persistent basal meristem. Leaf anatomy. Hairs present, or absent. Extra-floral nectaries absent.

Reproductive type, pollination. Fertile flowers functionally male, or functionally female. Unisexual flowers present. Plants monoecious. Female flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’; with staminodes (3 staminodes). Male flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’; without pistillodes (ass.). Entomophilous.

Inflorescence and flower features. Flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’ (males and females); short in racemes, or in fascicles (or clusters). Inflorescences axillary (female flower often co-axillary with male flowers); female flowers solitary or in fascicles; male flowers in fascicles, short racemes or sometimes reduced to clusters. Flowers pedicellate; ebracteate; ebracteolate; small to large; regular; cyclic. Free hypanthium present; campanulate (in male flowers), or urceolate (in female flowers, the lower part narrowed into a short neck above and then expanded into a broadly campanulate upper part); adnate to the ovary in the lower part of female flowers. Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla; 10; 2 -whorled; isomerous. Calyx present; 5; 1 -whorled; gamosepalous; blunt-lobed; imbricate, or open in bud; regular. Calyx lobes ovate (to subulate). Corolla present; 5; 1 -whorled; gamopetalous (deeply lobed); more or less valvate; campanulate; regular; white to yellow, or green to yellow. Corolla lobes ovate. Corolla members entire. Fertile stamens present, or absent. Androecial members definite in number. Androecium 3. Androecial members branched and unbranched, or unbranched; adnate (to the hypanthium); all equal (ass.); free of one another; 1 -whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 3; distinctly dissimilar in shape (uni/bilocular); reduced in number relative to the adjacent perianth; oppositisepalous (towards base of hypanthium). Anthers cohering, or connivent, or separate from one another; adnate; dehiscing via longitudinal slits; extrorse; unilocular (1 anther), or bilocular (2 anthers); bisporangiate, or bisporangiate and tetrasporangiate, or tetrasporangiate; appendaged (via the prolonged connective), or unappendaged. Fertile gynoecium present, or absent. Gynoecium 1 carpelled, or 2–5 carpelled. The pistil 1–3 celled. Gynoecium syncarpous; of one carpel, or synovarious, or synstylovarious, or eu-syncarpous; inferior. Ovary unilocular, or plurilocular; 1–3 locular. Epigynous disk present (annular). Gynoecium stylate. Styles 1; partially joined; apical. Stigmas 1; commissural; 3 - lobed. Placentation parietal; when the ovary plurilocular, axile. Ovules in the single cavity when unilocular, (1–)3–100 (i.e. to ‘many’); few; pendulous, or horizontal, or ascending; non-arillate; anatropous.

Fruit and seed features. Fruit 15–35 mm long; 1.5–2.5 cm in diameter; fleshy (thin-walled); not spinose; indehiscent; few. Seeds non-endospermic; medium sized to large; winged, or wingless. Cotyledons 2 (large, flat). Embryo straight.

Etymology. From the Greek diplo (double) and cyclos (ring); application unknown.