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Polygalaceae

Polygalaceae Hoffmanns. & Link, Fl. Portug. 1:62 (1809), nom. cons.

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Book cover Flowering Plants · Eudicots

Part of the book series: The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants ((FAMILIES GENERA,volume 9))

Abstract

Trees, lianas, shrubs, subshrubs, or perennial as well as annual herbs. Indumentum, if present, consisting of simple, unicellular or sometimes uniseriate hairs with a smooth or verrucate surface. Stems mostly terete, occasionally angular or winged; branches sometimes spine-tipped. Leaves usually alternate, sometimes opposite or verticillate, sessile or petiolate, simple, estipulate;nectariferous glands sometimes present at the base of the petiole or on the leaf blade. Inflorescences terminal or axillary, simple or compound racemes, panicles, or rarely flowers solitary. Flowers bisexual or allegedly functionally unisexual (Balgoya), hypogynous, ± actinomorphic to zygomorphic, subtended by a bract and two prophylls which are often early caducous. Calyx pentamerous, the sepals subequal to strongly unequal (in Polygaleae,the lateral ones are very large and petaloid), free, partly connate, or fused into a tube, caducous or persistent. Corolla pentamerous or trimerous, the petals free from each other, subequal to strongly irregular, the abaxial one often boat-shaped or developed into a carina (keel), which may be trilobed at apex or provided with a crest. Flowers white, yellow, pink, purple or blue, the abaxial petal (carina) often of contrasting colour. Stamens (2-)5-8(-10); filaments free, adnate to corolla lobes and/or fused into a sheath;anthers 2-4-sporangiate. Nectary absent or present, tending to be annular in genera with bilocular fruits and unilateral in those with unilocular fruits. Ovary 2-8-carpellate, syncarpous, usually with as many locules as carpels, occasionally unilocular (Xanthophyllum and pseudomonomerous genera), each locule with a single pendulous, epitropous ovule, except Xanthophyllum with 4-40 ovules in its single locule. Style straight or curved to geniculate, sometimes laterally compressed, distally undivided or bilobed with 1-2 stigmatic areas. Fruits capsules, sometimes dry and indehiscent, and occasionally winged (samaras), drupes or berries. Seeds glabrous or hairy, those of capsules and some berries often crowned by a ± prominent exostome aril (caruncle), or possessing other types of arillar outgrowths.

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  1. Department of Botany, University of Göteborg, P.O. Box 461, 40530, Göteborg, Sweden

    B. Eriksen & C. Persson

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  1. B. Eriksen
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  1. Biozentrum Klein-Flottbek und Botanischer Garten, Universität Hamburg, Ohnhorststraße 18, 22609, Hamburg, Germany

    Klaus Kubitzki

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Eriksen, B., Persson, C. (2007). Polygalaceae. In: Kubitzki, K. (eds) Flowering Plants · Eudicots. The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants, vol 9. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-32219-1_41

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