Leptonychia Turcz.

Small trees or shrub. Leaves simple, alternate, oblong to elliptic-oblong, obtuse of rounded at base, acuminate at apex, entire, membranous, glabrous on both surfaces. 3-nerved at base, lateral nerves 5 - 6 pairs, pinnately reticulate, petiolate, stipulate- Flowers bisexual, few in short, axillary cymes, shortly pedicelled, bracteate. Sepals 5, free, valvate in bud, stellate-hairy outside, velvety inside. Petals 5, imbricate in bud, short, orbicular, concave, densely villous. Stamens 10; staminal tube short, embracing the base of the ovary; filaments 3-seriate, outer series of 10 - 15 ligulate staminodes, middle of 10 fertile stamens, inner most of 5 very short fleshy staminodes; anthers linear-oblong, introrse, dehiscing longitudinally at the sides. Ovary sessile, obscurely obovoid, verrucose, densely downy, 2 - 3 -loculed or unilocular by abortion, dehiscing septicidally or loculicidally or irregularly; locules 1-seeded. Seeds black with orange- coloured fleshy aril, albumen fleshy; cotyledons flat, leafy.

Mostly tropical Africa and a few in Southeast Asia, ca 45 species; one in India.

Literature. VELDKAMP, J.E. & R.C.H. FILIPPI (1987) A revision of Leptonychia (Slcrculiaceae) in Southeast Asia. Blumea 32: 443 -457.

List of Lower Taxa