COMBRETACEAE
Morphological description
Woody, usually climbers. Trees with sympodial horizontal branching, leaves crowded, leafless when flowering, no petals (Terminalia)
Leaves
Leaves usually spiral, simple, entire, penninerved, usually with fine pellucid dots; glands at base of lamina or on petiole. Sometimes leaves crowded (Terminalia). Sometimes leaves opposite, with scales, fruit winged (Combretum). Sometimes petiolar spines (Quisqualis).
Inflorescence
Inflorescence,
Flowers
Flower calyx valvate; petals 4 or 5, free; stamens twice the number of petals, disk present; ovary inferior, 1-locular, 2 ovules. Sometimes no petals (Terminalia).
Fruit
Fruit 1-seeded, winged. Fruits crowned by accrescent sepals (Calycopteris).
Seed
Seed.
Distribution: The family pantropical. In Malesia 5 genera, incl.: - Combretum (pantropical), climbers, lowland rain forest; - Lumnitzera (paleotropics), shrubs or treelets, mangrove; - Terminalia (pantropical), trees, lowland rain and monsoon forest.
Notes: Terminalia fruits dispersed by water and bats. — Ornamentals: Combretum, Quisqualis, Terminalia. — Timber: Terminalia.
Literature: A.W. Exell, Fl. Males. I, 4 (1954) 533-589; M.J.E. Coode, Manual of the forest trees of Papua / New Guinea, part 1 (revised), Combretaceae (1969) 86 pp.
Spot characters (Van Balgooy): Combretaceae leaf with domatia (p.p.),venation scalariform (p.p.),ovary inferior; Calycopteris climbers without hooks/tendrils, climbers with opposite leaves,calyx accrescent, fruit winged; Combretum climbers without hooks/tendrils, climbers with opposite leaves, leafless when flowering, dried plants resinous (p.p.), scales, leaves verticillate (p.p.), leaf with dots, fruit winged; Quisqualis climbers with hooks/tendrils (p.p.), climbers without hooks/tendrils, climbers with opposite leaves, armed plants (p.p.), leaves verticillate (p.p.), fruit winged; Terminalia leafless when flowering (p.p.), armed plants (p.p.), terminalia branching, glands on petiole or lamina, leaves verticillate (p.p.), leaf with dots (p.p.),leaves withering red, fruit winged (p.p.), fruit ridged (p.p.).
Illustrations: Fig. 31 Combretum sundaicum Miq.: a. habit; b. flower; c. fruit. Fl. Males. I, 4 (1954) p. 543, fig. 6. [R. van Crevel] & Fig. 32. Terminalia zollingeri Exell: a. habit; b. hermaphrodite flower; c. male flower; d. LS of hermaphrodite flower; e. fruit; f. endocarp. Fl. Males. I, 4 (1954) 533-589;
Image in PhytoImages for Combretaceae