The Families of Flowering Plants
The Families of Flowering Plants | |
~ Capparidaceae
Habit and leaf form. Trees, or shrubs. Switch-plants; with the principal photosynthesizing function transferred to stems (almost leafless, with stiff, spine-tipped branches). Leaves much reduced. Xerophytic. Leaves early deciduous; minute; alternate; membranous (scalelike); simple; exstipulate.
Stem anatomy. Secretory cavities present (in the phloem); with resin. Internal phloem absent. Secondary thickening developing from a conventional cambial ring. ‘Included’ phloem absent. Xylem with tracheids; with fibre tracheids; without libriform fibres. Vessel end-walls simple. Wood ring porous; parenchyma apotracheal.
Reproductive type, pollination. Fertile flowers hermaphrodite. Plants hermaphrodite.
Inflorescence, floral, fruit and seed morphology. Flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’; in racemes. The terminal inflorescence unit racemose. Inflorescences axillary; very short axillary racemes. Flowers bracteate (the bracts minute); regular; 4 merous; cyclic. Floral receptacle developing a gynophore (the ovary shortly stipitate). Free hypanthium absent. Hypogynous disk absent.
Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla; 8. Calyx 4; 2 whorled (K 2+2 decussate, C 4 diagonal, cf. Cruciferae?); polysepalous (the sepals small); regular; imbricate. Corolla 4; 1 whorled; polypetalous; imbricate; regular; white; deciduous. Petals clawed.
Androecium 8. Androecial members free of the perianth; free of one another. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 8; diplostemonous; filantherous. Anthers dehiscing via longitudinal slits; introrse; apiculate. Pollen grains aperturate; (2–)3(–4) aperturate; colporate.
Gynoecium 2–5 carpelled. Carpels reduced in number relative to the perianth. The pistil 2 celled. Gynoecium syncarpous; eu-syncarpous; superior. Ovary 2 locular. Gynoecium stylate. Styles 1 (subulate, persistent); apical. Placentation axile. Ovules 5–50 per locule (several to many); anatropous.
Fruit fleshy; indehiscent; a berry. Seeds scantily endospermic. Embryo well differentiated. Cotyledons 2. Embryo much curved.
Physiology, biochemistry. Mustard-oils present, or absent (?).
Geography, cytology. Holarctic and Neotropical. Southern U.S.A., Mexico.
Taxonomy. Subclass Dicotyledonae; Crassinucelli. Dahlgren’s Superorder Rutiflorae; Sapindales. Cronquist’s Subclass Dilleniidae; Capparales. APG (1998) Eudicot; core Eudicot; Rosid; Eurosid II; Brassicales. Species 1. Genera 1; only genus, Koeberlinia.
Description inadequate, e.g. regarding floral morphology, mustard oils.
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: 10th April 2008. http://delta-intkey.com’.