Dichapetalaceae

Abstract

Trees, shrubs or lianas. Leaves alternate, simple, entire, pinnately nerved; stipules often early caducous, entire, lobed, partite or fimbriate. Inflorescences axillary, sometimes on leafless axillary or terminal shoots, cymose, distinctly branched to subcapitate or fasciculate, the peduncle free or adnate to petiole or more rarely the midrib; bracts and prophylls usually small. Flowers small, actinomorphic or zygomorphic, hermaphrodite or unisexual; pedicels usually articulated; sepals 5(4), imbricate, equal to very unequal, free or slightly united or rarely forming a tube; petals 5(4), either free and almost equal or connate into a tube with the lobes equal to very unequal, the lobes usually bifid at apex and most frequently bicucullate or inflexed, often clawed at base; stamens (4) 5, up to 3 of them sometimes lacking anthers, antesepalous, distinct to base of receptacle or adnate to corolla tube, generally with filaments, rarely with anthers sessile; anthers bilocular, introrse, longitudinally dehiscent; 1-5 variously shaped equal or unequal hypogynous glands ("staminodes”) or disk lobes alternating with stamens, distinct or connate into a disk; ovary superior, 2-4(5)-locular, with 2 ovules in each loculus, ovules epitropous, anatropous, bitegmic, tenuinucellate, pendulous from top of each loculus, raphe ventral; style usually simple with 2-4(5) lobes, or more rarely 2-4(5) distinct stylodia; stigma punctate. Fruit a dry or fleshy drupe, 1-3(4)-seeded; exocarp most frequently appressed pubescent, sometimes dehiscent; mesocarp thin to thick; endocarp hard or parchment-like, indehiscent, glabrous or pubescent within. Seeds pendulous, with little or no endosperm; embryo large, erect, with plano-convex cotyledons. Germination hypogeal, first leaves opposite or alternate.