Family Campynemataceae

Campynemataceae Dum.

Including Campynemaceae Dum.

Habit and leaf form. Small herbs. Leaves well developed. Perennial; with a basal aggregation of leaves, or with neither basal nor terminal aggregations of leaves; rhizomatous. Mesophytic, or xerophytic. Leaves alternate; spiral (?); sessile; sheathing; simple. Lamina entire; linear, or lanceolate; parallel-veined; without cross-venules. Lamina margins entire.

Leaf anatomy. Lamina dorsiventral. The mesophyll containing calcium oxalate crystals. The mesophyll crystals raphides. Vessels absent.

Stem anatomy. Secondary thickening absent. Xylem without vessels.

Root anatomy. Root xylem with vessels (?), or without vessels.

Reproductive type, pollination. Unisexual flowers absent. Plants hermaphrodite.

Inflorescence, floral, fruit and seed morphology. Flowers solitary, or aggregated in ‘inflorescences’; in umbels, or in panicles. Inflorescences scapiflorous, or not scapiflorous; terminal; few flowered panicles or pseudo-umbels. Flowers bracteate; small; regular; 6 merous (according to Dahlgren, Clifford and Yeo 1985); cyclic; tricyclic. Perigone tube absent.

Perianth of ‘tepals’; 6; free (inserted near the top of the ovary); 2 whorled (3+3); petaloid; without spots, or spotted; pale, sometimes dotted-striated.

Androecium 6. Androecial members all equal; free of one another; 2 whorled (3+3). Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 6; isomerous with the perianth; alterniperianthial. Anthers dorsifixed, or basifixed; dehiscing via longitudinal slits; extrorse, or extrorse and introrse (in Campynemanthe). Microsporogenesis successive. Tapetum glandular. Pollen shed as single grains. Pollen grains aperturate; 1 aperturate; sulcate; 2-celled.

Gynoecium 3 carpelled. The pistil 1 celled, or 3 celled. Gynoecium syncarpous; synovarious to eu-syncarpous; inferior. Ovary 1 locular (Campynema), or 3 locular (Campynemanthe). Gynoecium stylate. Styles 1 (Campynemanthe), or 3 (Campynema). Placentation when unilocular parietal; when trilocular axile. Ovules in the single cavity when unilocular 10–50 (?); 10–50 per locule (?); anatropous; weakly crassinucellate. Outer integument not contributing to the micropyle. Embryo-sac development Polygonum-type. Endosperm formation nuclear.

Fruit non-fleshy; dehiscent; a capsule; 20–50 seeded (‘many’). Seeds endospermic. Endosperm oily. Testa without phytomelan; pale red- brown.

Physiology, biochemistry. Saponins/sapogenins present.

Geography, cytology. Paleotropical. Tasmania, New Caledonia.

Taxonomy. Subclass Monocotyledonae. Dahlgren et al. Superorder Liliiflorae; Melanthiales. APG 3 core angiosperms; Superorder Lilianae; non-commelinid Monocot; Order Liliales.

Species 3. Genera 2; Campynema, Campynemanthe.