Family Hanguanaceae

Hanguanaceae Airy Shaw

Habit and leaf form. Somewhat grasslike herbs; non-laticiferous and without coloured juice. Perennial; with a basal aggregation of leaves; rhizomatous. Helophytic, or mesophytic. Leaves alternate; spiral; petiolate; sheathing; simple. Lamina entire; linear, or lanceolate; pinnately veined (pinnate-parallel); cross-venulate (with many cross-nervules). Lamina margins entire. Vernation convolute.

General anatomy. Plants with silica bodies (in the endodermis, abaxial hypodermis and mesophyll).

Leaf anatomy. Epidermis without silica bodies. Stomata present; tetracytic.

Vessels absent.

Stem anatomy. Primary vascular tissue in scattered bundles. Secondary thickening absent. Xylem without vessels.

Root anatomy. Root xylem with vessels; vessel end-walls scalariform.

Reproductive type, pollination. Plants dioecious. Female flowers with staminodes (six, 3 + 3). Gynoecium of male flowers pistillodial.

Inflorescence, floral, fruit and seed morphology. Flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’; in panicles. Inflorescences terminal; much branched, bracteate panicles. Flowers ebracteate; ebracteolate; small; regular; 3 merous; cyclic. Perigone tube present (short). Hypogynous disk absent (the male axis terminating in a conspicuous cluster of fleshy bodies).

Perianth of ‘tepals’ (the members small, rounded); 6; joined; 2 whorled; isomerous; petaloid; similar in the two whorls to different in the two whorls (the outer members smaller); pale.

Androecium 6. Androecial members adnate (to the base of the perianth); all equal; free of one another; 2 whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 6; diplostemonous. Anthers basifixed; dehiscing via longitudinal slits; introrse; tetrasporangiate. Pollen grains nonaperturate; spinulose.

Gynoecium 3 carpelled. Carpels isomerous with the perianth. The pistil 3 celled. Gynoecium syncarpous; eu-syncarpous; superior. Ovary 3 locular. Gynoecium non-stylate. Stigmas 1; broad, triangular. Placentation axile. Ovules 1 per locule; pendulous; orthotropous to hemianatropous.

Fruit fleshy; indehiscent; a drupe; 1–3 seeded. Seeds endospermic; bowl-shaped. Testa without phytomelan.

Physiology, biochemistry. Proanthocyanidins present; cyanidin and delphinidin. Flavonols absent.

Geography, cytology. Paleotropical and Australian. Tropical. Ceylon, eastern Asia and Australia.

Taxonomy. Subclass Monocotyledonae. Dahlgren et al. Superorder Liliiflorae; Asparagales (?). APG 3 core angiosperms; Superorder Lilianae; commelinid Monocot; Order Commelinales.

Species 2. Genera 1; only genus, Hanguana.