Family Luzuriagaceae

Luzuriagaceae J. Dostal

~ Philesiaceae

Including GeitonoplesiaceaeExcluding Behniaceae

Habit and leaf form. Slender shrubs, or lianas. ‘Normal’ plants. Rhizomatous. Self supporting, or climbing. Mesophytic, or xerophytic. Leaves alternate; distichous; ‘herbaceous’, or leathery (?); petiolate to sessile; non-sheathing; simple. Lamina inverted; entire; linear, or lanceolate, or ovate; parallel-veined; cross-venulate (slightly), or without cross-venules. Lamina margins entire.

Leaf anatomy. The mesophyll containing mucilage cells; containing calcium oxalate crystals. The mesophyll crystals raphides. Vessels present (?), or absent.

Stem anatomy. Secondary thickening absent. Xylem with vessels, or without vessels. Vessel end-walls scalariform.

Root anatomy. Root xylem with vessels; vessel end-walls simple, or scalariform and simple.

Reproductive type, pollination. Fertile flowers hermaphrodite. Unisexual flowers absent. Plants hermaphrodite. Floral nectaries present, or absent (? — no septal nectaries).

Inflorescence, floral, fruit and seed morphology. Flowers solitary, or aggregated in ‘inflorescences’. The ultimate inflorescence unit cymose. Inflorescences terminal, or axillary. Flowers small; regular; 3 merous; cyclic; pentacyclic. Perigone tube absent (or almost).

Perianth of ‘tepals’; 6; free (or almost), or joined; 2 whorled; isomerous; petaloid; similar in the two whorls, or different in the two whorls; white, or violet.

Androecium 6. Androecial members free of the perianth; all equal; free of one another; 2 whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 6; diplostemonous; alterniperianthial. Anthers dorsifixed, or basifixed; dehiscing via longitudinal slits, or dehiscing via pores; extrorse, or introrse; tetrasporangiate. Endothecium developing fibrous thickenings. The endothecial thickenings spiral. Microsporogenesis successive. Pollen grains aperturate; 1 aperturate; sulcate (or trichotomosulcate in Geitonoplesium); 2-celled.

Gynoecium 3 carpelled. Carpels isomerous with the perianth. The pistil 3 celled. Gynoecium syncarpous; eu-syncarpous; superior. Ovary 3 locular. Gynoecium stylate. Styles 1; attenuate from the ovary; apical. Stylar canal present. Stigmas 1; capitate to trilobate; dry type. Placentation axile. Ovules 3–9 per locule (‘few’); arillate, or non-arillate; anatropous, or campylotropous; bitegmic; crassinucellate. Outer integument not contributing to the micropyle. Embryo-sac development Polygonum-type.

Fruit fleshy; dehiscent, or indehiscent; a capsule (rather fleshy), or a berry. Seeds endospermic. Endosperm oily. Cotyledons 1. Embryo straight. Testa encrusted with phytomelan, or without phytomelan; black, or brown, or yellow.

Seedling. Hypocotyl internode present (short). Seedling collar not conspicuous. Cotyledon hyperphyll compact; non-assimilatory. Coleoptile absent. Seedling cataphylls present. First leaf dorsiventral. Primary root persistent.

Physiology, biochemistry. Not cyanogenic. Proanthocyanidins absent. Flavonols absent. Ellagic acid absent. Saponins/sapogenins absent (Luzuriaga).

Geography, cytology. Paleotropical, Cape, Australian, and Antarctic. Southern South America, southern Africa, Australia and adjacent regions to Java, New Guinea, New Zealand and New Caledonia, Falklands. X = 10.

Taxonomy. Subclass Monocotyledonae. Dahlgren et al. Superorder Liliiflorae; Asparagales. APG 3 core angiosperms; Superorder Lilianae; non-commelinid Monocot; Order Liliales (as a synonym of Alstreomeriaceae).

Species 7. Genera 4; Drymophila (Conran 1987), Eustrephus, Geitonoplesium, Luzuriaga.