STEMONACEAE
Morphological description
Herbs, often climbing, tuberous.
Leaves
Leaves simple, entire, with curved veins and scalariform secondaries, exstipulate.
Inflorescence
Inflorescence.
Flowers
Flowers 4-merous, tepals in 2 rows of 2, stamens 4, epitepalous. Usually ovary superior.
Fruit
Fruit a capsule.
Seed
Seed arillate.
Different from: Dioscoreaceae: flowers 3-merous, ovary inferior.
Distribution: A family of 3 genera, two in Indo-Malesia, one in East Asia and North America. In Malesia: Stemona and Stichoneuron.
Notes: Pentastemona, originally ascribed to Stemonaceae, has been placed in a distinct family.
Literature: B.E.E. Duyfjes, Fl. Males. I, 11 (1993) 399- 409.
Spot characters (Van Balgooy): Stemonaceae 104 - Stemona 5, 64, 68, 85 - Stichoneuron 5.
Illustrations: Fig. 169. Stemona tuberosa Lour. var. ternatensis (J. J. Sm.) Duyfjes (Stemonaceae). Leaf; enlarged inflorescence, the peduncle partly fused with the petiole. Reproduced from Flora Malesiana I, 11 (1993) 406, fig. 1a, b.
Image in PhytoImages for Stemonaceae