Family Ellisiophyllaceae

Ellisiophyllaceae Honda

~ Scrophulariaceae

Habit and leaf form. Prostrate herbs. Leaves alternate; long petiolate; simple. Lamina dissected; pinnatifid.

Leaf anatomy. Stomata present; anomocytic.

Reproductive type, pollination. Plants hermaphrodite.

Inflorescence, floral, fruit and seed morphology. Flowers solitary (long pedicellate); axillary; very irregular; zygomorphic. The floral irregularity involving the perianth and involving the androecium. Flowers cyclic; tetracyclic. Free hypanthium absent. Hypogynous disk present; annular (large, cupular).

Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla; 10; 2 whorled; isomerous. Calyx 5; 1 whorled; gamosepalous; imbricate. Corolla 5; 1 whorled; gamopetalous; imbricate; obscurely unequal but not bilabiate.

Androecium 4. Androecial members adnate (to the corolla); free of one another; 1 whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens (?). Stamens 4; reduced in number relative to the adjacent perianth; oppositisepalous; alternating with the corolla members; filantherous (exserted). Anthers dehiscing via longitudinal slits; introrse.

Gynoecium 2 carpelled. Carpels reduced in number relative to the perianth. The pistil 2 celled. Gynoecium syncarpous; synovarious to synstylovarious; superior. Ovary 2 locular. Gynoecium stylate. Styles 1 (shortly bifid); apical. Placentation axile. Ovules 3–4 per locule; non-arillate; anatropous; unitegmic; tenuinucellate. Endothelium differentiated. Endosperm formation cellular.

Fruit non-fleshy; dehiscent, or indehiscent (?); a capsule, or capsular-indehiscent (globular, more or less membranous, on a spirally retracting peduncle). Seeds copiously endospermic; large (large, peltate, pelviform); minutely conspicuously hairy (mucilaginous when wetted). Embryo well differentiated (small, very excentric). Cotyledons 2. Embryo straight.

Physiology, biochemistry. Inulin not found.

Geography, cytology. Paleotropical. Sub-tropical, or tropical. India to Formosa, Philippines, New Guinea.

Taxonomy. Subclass Dicotyledonae; Tenuinucelli (?). Dahlgren’s Superorder Lamiiflorae (?); Lamiales. Cronquist’s Subclass Asteridae; Scrophulariales. APG 3 core angiosperms; core eudicot; Superorder Asteranae; lamiid; Order Lamiales (as a synonym of Scrophulariaceae).

Species 1. Genera 1; only genus, Ellisiophyllum.

Yamazaki 1957.