Flowering Plants. Eudicots

Abstract

Evergreen shrubs or trees, epiphytic or not, glands and/or canals in most parts of the plant; xanthones widespread; plants glabrous or with uni- or multicellular hairs, colleters common; terminal bud scaly or naked. Leaves opposite, sometimes whorled or alternate, entire, estipulate, but paired ‘glands’ sometimes found at base. Inflorescences terminal or axillary, rarely. Flowers single, often modified cymose. Flowers perfect or unisexual, actinomorphic, usually with prophylls, sepals free, occasionally fused, 2(3)4, or 5(-20); petals (0, 3)4-5(-8), free; stamens (4-)∞, free or variously fasciculate, phalangiate, or otherwise connate, fascicles or phalanges opposite the petals, anthers dithecate, extrose to introrse, opening by slits, rarely pores, connective often with glands of various types; receptacular nectary absent; ovary superior, 1-5(-20)-locular, placentation axile or parietal, apical or basal, ovules (1)2-8/carpel, anatropous, sometimes amphitropous, bitegmic, tenuinucellate; free stylodia or simple style long to short or 0, stigmas more or less expanded, smooth and sticky or minutely porate, rarely papillose or punctate; fruit a berry or septicidal or -fragal capsule, seeds small to large, winged or arillate or not, testa with epidermis and exotegmen alone, the latter lignified and with sinuous anticlinal walls, or more complex and with vascular bundles permeating a many-layered testa, distinctive exotegmen then often absent; embryo large to small, cotyledons massive to almost absent; endosperm initially free nuclear, often absent at maturity; germination epigeal or hypogeal, if latter, then radicle may die early, replaced by adventitious roots.