The World Flora Online

Lianes ou arbustes devenant sarmenteux à maturité, glabres ; croissance juvénile érigée, arbustive, monopodiale, non ou peu ramifiée, sans crochets ; croissance adulte à tiges principales sympodiales portant des crochets courbés à hélicoïdaux ordinairement dans un seul plan le long du rameau et des ramilles. Stipules absentes ou petites et caduques. Feuilles spiralées, simples, sessiles, mais souvent pseudopétiolées, les juvéniles et adultes ordinairement hétérophylles ; limbe à marge entière, dessus et dessous à petites fovéoles (= cryptes) chacune contenant un seul poil sécrétant de la cire. Inflorescences extra-axillaires ou terminales sur les ramilles latérales, paniculées, ordinairement bractéifères. Fleurs bisexuées ; sépales et pétales 5, libres ou courtement unis à la base ; étamines 10, à filets courtement unis à la base, anthères basifixes, déhiscentes par des fentes longitudinales ; ovaire infère ou semi-infère, 1-loculaire, à placentation basilatérale, à 1 ovule ; styles 1 ou 3, à 3 stigmates. Fruits indéhiscents, secs, une noix, à base du style persistante et sépales accrescents, à 1 graine. Graines subglobuleuses, à endosperme ruminé et cotylédons pliés.

Une famille monogénérique des forêts sempervirentes de l’Afrique tropicale, de l’Inde méridionale et du Sri Lanka, de l’Asie du sud-est à travers l’île Hainan jusqu’à Sumatra, avec environ 16 espèces, dont quatre au Gabon.

Lianes'ou rarement arbustes, munis de crochets circinés disposés en série dans un même plan.'Feuilles'alternes, entières, simples, glabres, coriaces, les unes éparses sur la tige ou ses ramifications, les autres groupées au sommet des rameaux florifères; limbe parsemé sur les deux faces de minuscules cryptes garnies chacune d'un poil écailleux; stipules petites, très caduques.'Inflorescences'axillaires ou apparemment terminales, munies ou non de crochets; pédicelles articulés.'Fleurs'☿, actinomorphes, 5-mères, très caduques; sépales soudés à l'ovaire, imbriqués, ± inégaux; pétales tordus ou imbriqués, libres; étamines 10 (rarement 5), périgynes, disposées en un cycle, 5 un peu plus longues alternant avec les autres; filets ± soudés entre eux à la base, courts; anthères basifixes, introrses, s'ouvrant par déhiscence longitudinale; ovaire ± infère, tricarpellaire, uniloculaire; ovule 1, basilaire, hémianatrope, horizontal, muni de deux téguments; styles 3, libres ou soudés en un style; stigmates 3.'Fruits'secs, indéhiscents, uniséminés, couronnés par les sépales fortement et parfois inégalement accrescents.'Graines à tégument mince; albumen fortement ruminé, amylacé.\n\t\t\tFamille monogénérique, très particulière, présentant des affinités multiples et dont la position demeure incertaine, peut-être à situer au voisinage des Dioncophyllaceae (voir C. Metcalfe, Kew Bull. 1951 : 363-366. 1952; G. Erdtman, Veröff. Geobot. Inst. Rübel, 33: 47-49. 1958; R. Schmid, Engl. Bot. Jahrb., 83: 1-56. 1964; H. Gottwald & N. Parameswaran, Engl. Bot. Jahrb., 88: 49-69. 1968).

Petals 5, unequal, contorted, slightly connate at the base Calyx-tube at first short, at length adnate to the base of the ovary, with imbricate lobes; tube adnate to the fruit, with spreading wing-like unequal lobes Flowers hermaphrodite, actmomorphic, small, soon falling off, in terminal panicles, the branches of which are recurved Leaves alternate, simple, entire, leathery; indumentum absent; stipules inconspicuous or caducous Scandent shrubs with hook-like branchlets Fruit turbinate, surrounded by the wing-like calyx-lobes, with a leathery indehiscent pericarp Ovary 1-celled; ovule solitary; style thick and fleshy, with 3 stigmas Seed subglobose; testa intruding between the folds of the embryo; cotyledons strikingly folded Stamens perigynous, 5 or 10; anther-cells slightly unequal, with a shortly produced connective Calyx-tube at first short, at length adnate to the base of the ovary, with imbricate lobes; tube adnate to the fruit, with spreading wing-like unequal lobes Flowers hermaphrodite, actmomorphic, small, soon falling off, in terminal panicles, the branches of which are recurved Leaves alternate, simple, entire, leathery; indumentum absent; stipules inconspicuous or caducous Scandent shrubs with hook-like branchlets Fruit turbinate, surrounded by the wing-like calyx-lobes, with a leathery indehiscent pericarp Ovary 1-celled; ovule solitary; style thick and fleshy, with 3 stigmas Seed subglobose; testa intruding between the folds of the embryo; cotyledons strikingly folded Stamens perigynous, 5 or 10; anther-cells slightly unequal, with a shortly produced connective

Lianas or scandent shrubs climbing by hooked apices of sympodial branches; juvenile growth erect, shrubby, monopodial; plants externally glabrous. Leaves alternate; juvenile leaves crowded in terminal rosettes; adult leaves distributed along stems and clustered terminally on branches; stipules absent or tiny and caducous; petiole absent, though leaves often appearing pseudopetiolate due to long attenuate base of blade; leaf blade simple, entire, both surfaces with sparsely to moderately distributed small pits, each pit containing a single trichome that secretes a waxy substance. Flowers small, bisexual, in extra-axillary or apparently terminal dichotomously branched panicles with higher order branches sometimes becoming racemiform or spiciform, regular except for often unequal sepals. Bracts tiny, subtending axes and pedicels. Sepals (4 or)5, seated on middle or upper part of ovary, imbricate, equal or unequal, accrescent and winglike in fruit. Petals (4 or)5, distinct or slightly connate at base, imbricate, convolute, and/or intermediate in bud. Stamens 10, in 1 or 2 whorls, equal or 5 somewhat larger than others, or seldom 8 or only 5; filaments equal or unequal in length, somewhat connate at base and adnate to base of petals; anthers basifixed, tetrasporangiate and dithecal, introrse, opening by longitudinal slits. Gynoecium of 3 carpels united to form a compound, 1-loculed ovary; ovary inferior or partially inferior; ovule solitary, basilateral, hemitropous, bitegmic; styles 1 or usually 3, thickened, oblong; stigmas 3. Fruit a nut surrounded by corky hypanthium and crowned by often unequal sepals. Seed with hard, starchy, ruminate endosperm; embryo short, straight.

Flowers hermaphrodite, actinomorphic, 5-merous, very caducous Calyx-tube short, adnate to the base of the ovary; sepals imbricate, ± unequal, soon accrescent Lianas or scandent shrubs; branches sympodial, provided with a series of circinate woody hooks in one plane Leaves alternate, entire, simple, glabrous, coriaceous, some generally larger scattered on the main shoots, others often smaller crowded in rosettes on flowering shoots, all cuneiform, penninerved, reticulately veined, minutely pitted on both surfaces, each pit with a peltate small hair secreting a wax-like substance; petiole articulated, often leaving a saddle-shaped scar on the twigs Stipules small, very caducous Inflorescences axillary or pseudo-terminal, dichotomously branched or spike-like, sometimes provided with hooks; pedicels articulated Ovary for the greater part inferior, tricarpellate, 1-locular, protruding into an enlarging nipple-shaped elongation bearing 3 articulated erect free or united styles with 3 stigmas; ovule 1, basal, hemianatropous, with 2 integuments Stamens mostly 10, rarely 5 or to 15, perigynous, in 1–2 cycles, alternately unequal; filaments short, ± united at the base, with broadened base; anthers basifixed, generally introrse, 2-thecous, opening lengthwise Seeds with a thin testa intruding between the cerebral-like folds of the endosperm Fruit a non-dehiscent dry nut, 1-seeded, crowned by the generally unequal and wing-like enlarged sepals Petals free, contorted or imbricate Calyx-tube short, adnate to the base of the ovary; sepals imbricate, ± unequal, soon accrescent Lianas or scandent shrubs; branches sympodial, provided with a series of circinate woody hooks in one plane Leaves alternate, entire, simple, glabrous, coriaceous, some generally larger scattered on the main shoots, others often smaller crowded in rosettes on flowering shoots, all cuneiform, penninerved, reticulately veined, minutely pitted on both surfaces, each pit with a peltate small hair secreting a wax-like substance; petiole articulated, often leaving a saddle-shaped scar on the twigs Stipules small, very caducous Inflorescences axillary or pseudo-terminal, dichotomously branched or spike-like, sometimes provided with hooks; pedicels articulated Ovary for the greater part inferior, tricarpellate, 1-locular, protruding into an enlarging nipple-shaped elongation bearing 3 articulated erect free or united styles with 3 stigmas; ovule 1, basal, hemianatropous, with 2 integuments Stamens mostly 10, rarely 5 or to 15, perigynous, in 1–2 cycles, alternately unequal; filaments short, ± united at the base, with broadened base; anthers basifixed, generally introrse, 2-thecous, opening lengthwise Seeds with a thin testa intruding between the cerebral-like folds of the endosperm Fruit a non-dehiscent dry nut, 1-seeded, crowned by the generally unequal and wing-like enlarged sepals Petals free, contorted or imbricate