Family Daphniphyllaceae

Daphniphyllaceae Muell. Arg.

Habit and leaf form. Trees, or shrubs. Leaves alternate (sometimes crowded and almost whorled at the branch tips); non-sheathing; simple. Lamina entire; pinnately veined; cross-venulate. Leaves exstipulate. Lamina margins entire.

Leaf anatomy. Stomata present; paracytic.

The mesophyll containing calcium oxalate crystals. The mesophyll crystals druses. Minor leaf veins without phloem transfer cells.

Stem anatomy. Internal phloem absent. Secondary thickening developing from a conventional cambial ring. ‘Included’ phloem absent. Xylem with tracheids; with vessels. Vessel end-walls scalariform. Pith with diaphragms, or without diaphragms.

Reproductive type, pollination. Fertile flowers functionally male, or functionally female. Plants dioecious. Female flowers with staminodes, or without staminodes. Gynoecium of male flowers absent.

Inflorescence, floral, fruit and seed morphology. Flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’; in racemes. The ultimate inflorescence unit racemose. Inflorescences axillary. Flowers bracteate (each pedicel subtended by a deciduous bract); small (and inconspicuous); regular. Free hypanthium absent.

Perianth sepaline (usually), or absent (apetalous, occasionally the calyx also lacking); 2–6; 1 whorled. Calyx 2–6; when present, 1 whorled; polysepalous; regular; more or less imbricate.

Androecium 5–12. Androecial members free of the perianth; free of one another. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 5–12; isomerous with the perianth to diplostemonous; filantherous (the filaments short). Anthers basifixed; non-versatile; dehiscing via longitudinal slits; latrorse; tetrasporangiate. Pollen shed as single grains. Pollen grains aperturate; 3 aperturate; colporate.

Gynoecium 2(–4) carpelled. Carpels reduced in number relative to the perianth. The pistil 2(–4) celled. Gynoecium syncarpous; synovarious to synstylovarious; inferior. Ovary 2(–4) locular. Gynoecium stylate. Styles 2(–4); partially joined (but only basally); apical. Stigmas dry type; papillate; Group II type. Placentation axile to apical. Ovules 2 per locule; pendulous; epitropous; with ventral raphe; non-arillate (no obturator, no caruncle); anatropous; bitegmic; crassinucellate. Outer integument contributing to the micropyle. Antipodal cells formed; 3 (?); not proliferating; ephemeral. Synergids with prominent filiform apparatus.

Fruit fleshy; indehiscent; a drupe. The drupes with one stone. Fruit 1 seeded. Seeds endospermic. Endosperm oily (and proteinaceous). Embryo well differentiated (small, apical). Embryo straight.

Physiology, biochemistry. Not cyanogenic. Alkaloids present (unique, ‘daphniphylline group’). Iridoids detected; ‘Route I’ type (?). Proanthocyanidins absent. Flavonols present; quercetin (trace). Ellagic acid absent. Aluminium accumulation demonstrated (often).

Geography, cytology. Holarctic and Paleotropical. Eastern Asia, Malaysia. 2n = 32.

Taxonomy. Subclass Dicotyledonae; Crassinucelli. Dahlgren’s Superorder Rosiflorae; Buxales. Cronquist’s Subclass Hamamelidae; Daphniphyllales. APG 3 core angiosperms; core eudicot; unplaced at Superordinal level; Order Saxifragales.

Species 35. Genera 1; Daphniphyllum.