Family Lissocarpaceae

Lissocarpaceae Gilg

~ Ebenaceae

Habit and leaf form. Small trees. Leaves alternate; petiolate; non-sheathing; simple. Lamina entire; pinnately veined; cross-venulate. Leaves exstipulate. Lamina margins entire.

Leaf anatomy. Stomata present; anomocytic, or cyclocytic.

Stem anatomy. Secondary thickening developing from a conventional cambial ring (?). Xylem with fibre tracheids. Vessel end-walls scalariform and simple.

Reproductive type, pollination. Unisexual flowers absent. Plants hermaphrodite.

Inflorescence, floral, fruit and seed morphology. Flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’; in cymes. The ultimate inflorescence unit cymose. Inflorescences axillary; small axillary cymes. Flowers (bi) bracteolate; regular; cyclic; tetracyclic.

Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla; 8; 2 whorled; isomerous. Calyx 4; 1 whorled; gamosepalous; four blunt-lobed; campanulate; regular; imbricate. Corolla 4; 1 whorled; appendiculate (in the form of a short, tubular, 8-toothed corona in the throat); gamopetalous; contorted.

Androecium 8. Androecial members adnate; coherent (the filaments shortly connate); 1 whorled (in a single series). Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 8; inserted near the base of the corolla tube, or midway down the corolla tube; diplostemonous; both alternating with and opposite the corolla members. Anthers linear, dehiscing via longitudinal slits; tetrasporangiate; appendaged (by an apiculate-prolonged connective). The anther appendages apical. Pollen shed as single grains. Pollen grains aperturate; 3 aperturate; porate.

Gynoecium 4 carpelled. Carpels isomerous with the perianth. The pistil 4 celled. Gynoecium syncarpous; eu-syncarpous; inferior. Ovary 4 locular. Gynoecium stylate. Styles 1; apical (clavate). Stigmas 1; capitate or shallowly four-lobed. Placentation axile. Ovules 2 per locule; pendulous; embryology not recorded.

Fruit somewhat fleshy; indehiscent; 1 seeded, or 2 seeded. Seeds copiously endospermic. Embryo well differentiated (rather large). Embryo straight.

Geography, cytology. Neotropical. Tropical. Tropical South America.

Taxonomy. Subclass Dicotyledonae; Tenuinucelli. Dahlgren’s Superorder Primuliflorae; Ebenales. Cronquist’s Subclass Dilleniidae; Ebenales. APG 3 core angiosperms; core eudicot; Superorder Asteranae; Order Ericales (as a synonym of Ebenaceae).

Species 2. Genera 1; Lissocarpa.