Botanical Survey of India | Flora of India

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PITTOSPORACEAE
M. P. Nayar and G. S. Giri



Trees, shrubs or sometimes climbers, rarely epiphytic, evergreen, usually with lenticels and rarely with spines. Leaves spirally arranged, alternate or whorled, often crowded at ends of branches, entire or rarely sinuate-toothed, petiolate, rarely sessile, exstipulate, simple, penninerved. Inflorescence axillary, terminal or pseudoterminal or lateral, mostly in thyrses, rarely simple cymes or corymbs, bracteate. Flowers actinomorphic, bisexual, rarely functionally unisexual, pedicellate. Sepals 3 - 5, free or connate to various degrees. Petals 3 - 5, free, rarely basally coherent, imbricate. Stamens 3 - 5, free, alternipetalous, episepalous, erect; filaments filiform-subulate, free or sometimes connivent below; anthers erect, oblong, basifixed, introrse; loculi 2, parallel, opening by longitudinal slits or rarely by 2 apical pores; disc absent or rarely present. Ovary superior, sessile or stipitate, 1-loculed, sometimes completely or incompletely 2 - 5-locular due to the projection of placentae; carpels 2 (3 - 5); placentae 2 - 5, parietal or basal, rarely axile; style simple, short or long, glabrous; stigma apical, capitate, thickened or obscurely 2 - 5-lobed; ovules 2 to many in each locule, parietal or basal, anatropous. Fruits 2-several valved, loculicidal or sometimes septicidal capsules or berries, rarely dry and indehiscent, usually containing viscous pulp; seeds 2-many, erect, rarely winged; embryo minute, linear; endosperm copious, firm-fleshy.

Tropical and subtropical regions of Old World, Africa,

Asia, Australia and the New Zealand; 9 genera and ca 250 species, 1 genus and 11 species in India.

Literature. NAYAR, M. P. & G. S. GIRI (1980) Pittosporaceae. In: Fasc. Fl. India 6: 1 - 15.




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