The Families of Flowering Plants
The Families of Flowering Plants | |
~ Solanaceae
Habit and leaf form. Much branched, small trees, or shrubs; leptocaul. Leaves alternate; leathery; simple. Lamina entire; pinnately veined (the laterals closely parallel-ascending, cf. Sapotaceae). Leaves exstipulate. Lamina margins entire.
Stem anatomy. Primary vascular tissue bicollateral. Internal phloem present. Secondary thickening developing from a conventional cambial ring. ‘Included’ phloem absent.
Reproductive type, pollination. Plants hermaphrodite.
Inflorescence, floral, fruit and seed morphology. Flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’ (and extra-axillary), or aggregated in ‘inflorescences’; when aggregated, in racemes, or in fascicles. Inflorescences axillary; few flowered axillary racemes or fascicles. Flowers regular to very irregular; when irregular, zygomorphic. The floral irregularity when noticeable, involving the perianth and involving the androecium. Flowers 4–6 merous; cyclic; tetracyclic. Free hypanthium absent. Hypogynous disk present (usually large, fleshy and lobed).
Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla; 8–12; 2 whorled; isomerous. Calyx 4–6; 1 whorled; gamosepalous (the segments rarely almost free); persistent; valvate. Corolla 4–6; 1 whorled; gamopetalous; valvate; campanulate, or funnel-shaped; unequal but not bilabiate, or regular (the mostly short lobes equal to unequal).
Androecium 4–6. Androecial members adnate (to the corolla); all equal, or markedly unequal; free of one another; 1 whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens (?). Stamens 4–6; isomerous with the perianth; long filantherous (the anthers exserted). Anthers dorsifixed (near the base, sagittate); versatile. Pollen grains aperturate; 3 aperturate; colporate (colporoidate).
Gynoecium 1 carpelled (ostensibly), or 2 carpelled. Carpels reduced in number relative to the perianth. The pistil 1 celled, or 2 celled. Gynoecium syncarpous (but Henoonia pseudomonomerous); synstylovarious to eu-syncarpous; superior. Ovary 1 locular, or 2 locular. Locules without ‘false septa’. Gynoecium stylate. Styles 1; apical; long. Stigmas capitate or bilobed. Placentation when unilocular, basal; when bilocular, basal. Ovules in the single cavity 2; 2 per locule; collateral.
Fruit fleshy, or non-fleshy (sometimes leathery); indehiscent; a berry; 1–2 seeded. Seeds non-endospermic. Embryo well differentiated (and large). Cotyledons 2, or 4 (sometimes). Testa plicate.
Geography, cytology. Neotropical. Temperate to tropical. Mexico, West Indies.
Taxonomy. Subclass Dicotyledonae; Tenuinucelli. Dahlgren’s Superorder Solaniflorae; Solanales (?). Cronquist’s Subclass Asteridae; Solanales. APG 3 core angiosperms; core eudicot; Superorder Asteranae; lamiid; Order Solanales (as a synonym of Solanaceae).
Species 7. Genera 4; Coeloneurum, Espadaea, Goetzea, Henoonia.
Economic uses, etc. The berry of Espadaea edible, with the flavour of apricot.
This description is offered for casual browsing only. We strongly advise against extracting comparative information from it. This is much more easily achieved using the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting specified attributes, summaries of attributes within groups of taxa, geographical distribution, genera included in each family, classifications (Dahlgren; Dahlgren, Clifford, and Yeo; Cronquist; APG), and notes on the APG classification.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 1992 onwards. The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval. Version: 25th November 2009. http://delta-intkey.com’.