Family Leonticaceae

Leonticaceae (Spach) Airy Shaw

~ Berberidaceae, Podophyllaceae

Habit and leaf form. Glaucous herbs. Plants succulent, or non-succulent. Perennial; with a basal aggregation of leaves; rhizomatous, or tuberous. Leaves alternate; ‘herbaceous’, or fleshy; compound; pinnate, or bipinnate, or multiply compound (2–3 pinnate). Lamina pinnately veined. Leaves stipulate. Stipules intrapetiolar (on the petiole); caducous.

Leaf anatomy. Stomata present; anomocytic (at least in Leontice).

Lamina dorsiventral.

Stem anatomy. Secondary thickening absent. Vessel end-walls simple.

Reproductive type, pollination. Plants hermaphrodite. Floral nectaries present. Nectar secretion from the perianth (the corolla often nectariform). Pollination entomophilous.

Inflorescence, floral, fruit and seed morphology. Flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’; in racemes (or compound racemes). The ultimate inflorescence unit racemose. Inflorescences simply or compoundly racemose. Flowers more or less regular; 3 merous; cyclic; pentacyclic, or polycyclic. Free hypanthium absent. Hypogynous disk absent.

Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla; 9–15; 3–5 whorled; isomerous, or anisomerous. Calyx 3–9 (the inner members often petaloid); 1–3 whorled; polysepalous; imbricate. Corolla 6; 2 whorled; polypetalous (often nectariform); yellow.

Androecium 6; exclusively of fertile stamens (unless the nectariferous petals are interpreted as staminodes). Stamens 6; isomerous with the perianth; alternisepalous; opposite the corolla members. Anthers dehiscing by longitudinal valves; extrorse. Endothecium developing fibrous thickenings. Microsporogenesis simultaneous. Pollen grains aperturate; 3 aperturate; colpate.

Gynoecium ostensibly 1 carpelled. Carpels reduced in number relative to the perianth. The pistil 1 celled. Gynoecium monomerous (or pseudomonomerous?); ostensibly of one carpel; superior. Carpel shortly stylate; apically stigmatic (the stigma small or plicate-dilated); 2–8 ovuled. Placentation basal. Ovules ascending; anatropous; bitegmic; pseudocrassinucellate. Outer integument contributing to the micropyle. Embryo-sac development Polygonum-type. Endosperm formation nuclear.

Fruit bladdery, non-fleshy. The fruiting carpel dehiscent (or gaping above, or the walls evanescent), or indehiscent. Seeds endospermic; drupelike, large (often blue). Embryo straight.

Physiology, biochemistry. Cyanogenic. C3. C3 physiology recorded directly in Leontice. Anatomy non-C4 type (Leontice).

Geography, cytology. Holarctic. Temperate. North temperate.

Taxonomy. Subclass Dicotyledonae; Crassinucelli. Dahlgren’s Superorder Ranunculiflorae; Ranunculales. Cronquist’s Subclass Magnoliidae; Ranunculales. APG 3 core angiosperms; peripheral eudicot; Superorder Ranunculanae; Order Ranunculales (as a synonym of Berberidaceae).

Species 14. Genera 4; Leontice, Bongardia, Caulophyllum, Gymnospermium.

Illustrations.
• Carpel, fruit and seed (Caulophyllum).