TETRACENTRACEAE

Trees, deciduous with alternately long and short shoots; short shoots conspicuously marked by concentric scars of fallen leaves and bud scales and terminated by a bud enclosed by stipular flanges adnate to petiole; each short shoot bearing a single subterminal leaf and solitary inflorescence. Leaves simple, deciduous, alternate, rounded-ovate, crenate-dentate, palmately nerved. Inflorescence a catkin-like pendulous spike, short pedunculate, close to petiole near apex of short shoot. Flowers bisexual, numerous, hypogynous, opposite to sepals; anthers basifixed, erect. Ovary superior, consisting of 4 united carpels; each carpel unilocular with 2 placentas; styles 4, free, subulate, erect and becoming sharply recurved due to unequal growth of carpels; ovules ca 6 per carpel. Fruit a cluster of 4 laterally compressed follicles, each dehiscing ventrally. Seeds ca 5 per follicle, pendulous, compressed ellipsoid or fusiform, shortly winged at each end; endosperm copious, oily; embryo minute, subglobose or ellipsoid, obscurely cleft at. apex.

India, Nepal, Bhutan, S.W. China and Myanmar; monotypic.

Literature. RAO, R.S. & P.K. HAJRA (1990) Tetracentraceae. In: Fasc. Fl. India. 20: 173 - 175.

List of Lower Taxa