HALORAGACEAE
NB Gunnera is now placed in a separate family: Gunneraceae. Description needs update.
Morphological description
Herbaceous. Stoloniferous (Gunnera).
Leaves
Leaves simple, verticillate, penninerved; exstipulate. Sometimes leaves large, palminerved on long stalks (Gunnera)
Inflorescence
Inflorescence spike-like.
Flowers
Flower actinomorphic, usually 4-merous; disk absent; ovary inferior.
Fruit
Fruit.
Seed
Seed.
Different from: Callitrichaceae: ovary superior.
Distribution: The family nearly cosmopolitan. In Malesia 5 genera, including : - Haloragis, herbs or shrubs, mostly open places from lowland to high in the mountains; - Myriophyllum, aquatic herbs.
Notes: Species of Myriophyllum are grown as aquarium plants. Many species treated under Haloragis in Flora Malesiana have been transferred to Gonocarpus (Orchard, 1975).
Literature: R. van der Meijden & N. Caspers, Fl. Males. I, 7 (1971) 239-263; A.E. Orchard, Bull. Auckl. Inst. Mus. 10 (1975) 1-299.
Spot characters (Van Balgooy): Haloragaceae 92 - Haloragis 46 - Myriophyllum 46.
Illustrations: Fig. 87. Haloragis micrantha (Thunb.) Sieb. & Zucc. (Haloragaceae). Habit in an exposed (above) and shaded situation (below). Reproduced from Flora Malesiana I, 7 (1971) 243, fig. 1a, b. Fig. 88. Gunnera macrophylla Blume (Haloragaceae). Habit; enlarged female flower. Reproduced from P. van Royen, Alpine Flora of New Guinea 4 (1983) 2991, fig. 867.
Image in PhytoImages for Haloragaceae