Familia Eupomatiaceae

EUPOMATIACEAE

Morphological description

Woody, non-climbing.

Leaves

Leaves alternate, simple, entire, penninerved, exstipulate.

Inflorescence

Usually flowers solitary.

Flowers

Flower bisexual, actinomorphic; perianth forming a deciduous calyptra, stamens and staminodes many; carpels many, sunk into a broad hypanthium.

Fruit

Fruit a truncate berry.

Different from: Annonaceae: flowers not calyptrate, carpels nearly always free. — Himantandraceae: lepidote, fruit globular. — Lauraceae: flowers not calyptrate, anthers opening by valves, fruit 1-carpellate.

Distribution: The only genus, Eupomatia, consists of two species, one in E. Australia, the other in E. New Guinea.

Notes: Understory tree of lowland rain forest, flowers sweet-scented, visited by bees; potential ornamental.

Literature: J.R. Croft, Handb. Fl. Papua New Guinea 1 (1978) 123-126. — Dr. P.K. Endress (Zurich) is revising the family for Flora Malesiana.

Spot characters (Van Balgooy): 30, 92.

Illustrations: Fig. 66. Eupomatia laurina R. Br. (Courtesy Department of Forests, PNG).

Image in PhytoImages for Eupomatiaceae

 

 

 

 

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