Trees, shrubs, climbers or herbs with radical leaves. Leaves simple, alternate or
spirally arranged, rarely opposite, entire or dentate, usually with numerous prominent
parallel lateral nerves; stipules absent, or ifpresent, wing-like, mostly caducous. Flowers
solitary, clustered or in panicles, actinomorphic, bisexual, hypogynous, generally yellow
or white. Sepals 5 (4-6), free, imbricate or spirally arranged, persistent, often accrescent,
thickened and fleshy in fruit. Petals usually 3 -
5, free, imbricate, often crumpled in bud,
caducous. Stamens numerous, rarely 7 - 10, free or basally connate into bundles,
centrifugal in development, usually persistent; staminodes often present; filaments
thickened apically; anthers 2-locular, basifixeded, oblong, opening by apical pores or
longitudinal slits. Carpels 1 -
20, superior, free or somewhat coherent along the central
axis; styles free, elongate and divergent; ovules 1 -
many, anatropous, campylotropous
or amphitropous, on axile placenta. Fruiting carpels dehiscent and follicular or indehis-
cent and baccate, enclosed within a subglobose pseudocarp composed of the enlarged
somewhat fleshy imbricate sepals. Seeds lor few, arillate or exarillate; testa crustaceous;
endosperm copious, fleshy, oily and proteinaceous; embryo minute, linear, straight.
Tropical and subtropical regions of the world, centred in Australia, rare in Africa;
14 genera and ca 400 species, 3 genera and 12 species in India.
Literature.
ABEDIN, S. (1973) Dilleniaceae. In: Fl. W. Pakistan 42: 1 -
4. HOOGLAND, R. D.
(1951) Dilleniaceae. In: Fl. Males. I, 4: 141 - 174. MAJUMDAR, N. C. (1979) Dilleniaceae. In: Fasc. Fl.
India 2: 1 - 16. SASTRY, R.L.N.(1958) Pollen morphology and embryology of some Dilleniaceae. Bot.
Notiser 111: 495 - 511.
KEY TO THE GENERA
1a. Herbs, usually stemless, with large radical leaves
b. Trees, shrubs or woody climbers, without radical leaves
2
2a. Trees; flowers solitary or in clusters, white or yellow; stamens with cylindric filaments and parallel
locules; receptacle cleal; fruits globose, indehiscent, enclosed by enlarged sepals
b. Shrubs or woody climbers; flowers in terminal panicles, white to reddish white; stamens with filaments
thickened upwards and obliquely divergent lacules; receptacle flat; fruits of several dehiscent shiny
follicles, not enlosed in enlarged calyx
