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Cochlospermaceae Planch.

This name is not current. Find out more information on related names.

Reference
London J.Bot. 6:305 (1847)
Name Status
Not Current
Image

Scientific Description

Family Sometimes included in Bixaceae.

Habit and leaf form. Trees and shrubs; with coloured juice. Mesophytic, or xerophytic. Leaves alternate; petiolate; non-sheathing; gland-dotted, or not gland-dotted; aromatic, or without marked odour; simple. Leaf blades dissected; palmately lobed; palmately veined; cross-venulate. Leaves with stipules. Leaf blade margins serrate. 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.

Inflorescence and flower features. Flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’; in panicles and in racemes. Inflorescences paniculate or racemose. Flowers large; regular to somewhat irregular. Free hypanthium absent. Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla; 8, or 10; 2 -whorled; isomerous. Calyx 4, or 5; 1 -whorled; polysepalous; imbricate; not persistent (deciduous). Corolla 4, or 5; 1 -whorled; polypetalous; imbricate, or contorted; yellow. Androecium 15–100 (‘many’). Androecial members branched (with trunk bundles); maturing centrifugally; free of the perianth; all equal to markedly unequal; free of one another. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 15–60; polystemonous. Anthers dehiscing via pores (these apical, often confluent). Gynoecium 3–5 carpelled. The pistil 1 celled, or 3 celled. Gynoecium syncarpous; eu-syncarpous; superior. Ovary unilocular, or plurilocular; 1 locular, or 3 locular. Styles 1; attenuate from the ovary; apical. Stigmas 1 (minute). Placentation when unilocular, parietal; when trilocular, axile. Ovules in the single cavity when unilocular, 20–100 (i.e. ‘many’); when trilocular, 20–50 per locule (i.e. ‘many’); anatropous.

Fruit and seed features. Fruit non-fleshy; dehiscent; a capsule. Capsules three to five valvular. Seeds endospermic. Endosperm oily. Cotyledons 2. Embryo straight, or curved, or coiled. Micropyle zigzag. Seedling. Germination phanerocotylar.

Physiology, biochemistry. Aluminium accumulation not found.

Geography, cytology, number of species. World distribution: widespread-tropical, except Malaysia. 20–25 species.