LINACEAE
NB In this plant portrait
Morphological description
Herbs, shrubs or trees. When woody vines, the climbing species (Hugonia, Indorouchera, Philbornea) provided with hooks.
Leaves
Leaves usually spiral, simple, penninerved, stipulate. Sometimes stipules pectinate (Hugonia).
Inflorescence
Inflorescence are terminal or axillary thyrses, racemes or cymes.
Flowers
Flower bisexual, 5-merous, actinomorphic; ovary superior. Usually sepals and petals more or less free, quincuncial; stamens 10, filaments connate at base, 5 long, 5 short.
Fruit
Fruit a capsule. Sometimes fruit a drupe (Indorouchera).
Seed
Seeds sometimes with arils.
Different from: Malpighiaceae: T-hairs, petals clawed. — Oxalidaceae: the climbers without hooks, the trees usually with compound leaves, fruit usually a berry.
Distribution: Scattered throughout the tropics; in Malesia 5 genera, mostly of primary lowland rain forest.
Notes:
Literature: A.M.N. van Hooren & H.P. Nooteboom, Fl. Males. I, 10 (1988) 607-619 (Linaceae).
Spot characters (Van Balgooy): Ctenolophon 25, 26, 104 - Hugonia 4, 34, 98 - Indorouchera 4, 22 - Ixonanthes 100, 102 - Philbornea 4.
Illustrations: Fig. 95. Indorouchera contestiana (Pierre) Hall. f.: a. habit with hook; b & c. details of flower. Fig. 96. Ixonanthes reticulata Jack: a. fruits; b & c. flowers.
Image in PhytoImages for Linaceae