Including Dodonaeaceae Link, Dyssapindaceae Radlk., Koelreuteriaceae J.G. Agardh, Saponaceae Vent.
Excluding Ptaeroxylaceae
Habit and leaf form. Trees, or shrubs, or lianas, or herbs; laticiferous (often), or non-laticiferous and without coloured juice. Self supporting, or climbing; the climbers tendril climbers (the tendrils representing modified infloresences), or scrambling. Mesophytic. Leaves alternate; spiral; petiolate; non-sheathing; gland-dotted (often), or not gland-dotted; without marked odour; compound (usually), or simple (but it remains to be ascertained how often records of this condition could reasonably be interpreted as `unifoliolate'); often pulvinate; usually ternate, or pinnate, or bipinnate, or multiply compound (sometimes biternate). Lamina when simple, dissected to entire; when simple/dissected, pinnatifid; pinnately veined; cross-venulate. Leaves stipulate (in some climbers), or exstipulate. Domatia recorded (from 17 genera and numerous species); represented by pits, or pockets, or hair tufts.
Leaf anatomy. Mucilaginous epidermis present, or absent. Stomata anomocytic (usually), or paracytic.
Adaxial hypodermis present (often), or absent. Lamina dorsiventral (usually), or isobilateral to centric. The mesophyll with sclerencymatous idioblasts, or without sclerenchymatous idioblasts. Minor leaf veins without phloem transfer cells (Cardiospermum, Dodonaea, Melicocca).
Stem anatomy. Cork cambium present; initially superficial (usually), or deep-seated (e.g. Dodonaea). Nodes tri-lacunar. Internal phloem absent. Secondary thickening developing from a conventional cambial ring, or anomalous; sometimes via concentric cambia (e.g. Serjania). `Included' phloem present (rarely), or absent. Xylem with libriform fibres; with vessels. Vessel end-walls simple. Primary medullary rays narrow. Wood storied (e.g. Diplokeleba), or partially storied (VPI, Sapindus); parenchyma paratracheal, or apotracheal and paratracheal.
Reproductive type, pollination. Monoecious, or polygamomonoecious, or polygamodioecious (but seemingly with much scope for confusion re. appearance versus functional fertility of floral components). Female flowers often with well developed but non-functional stamens.
Inflorescence, floral, fruit and seed morphology. Flowers solitary (rarely), or aggregated in `inflorescences'; in cymes. The terminal inflorescence unit cymose. Inflorescences usually cymes, thyrses or cincinni. Flowers usually bracteate; bracteolate (usually), or ebracteolate; small; regular to very irregular (often obliquely zygomorphic). The floral asymmetry involving the perianth and involving the androecium. Flowers often 4 merous, or 5 merous; cyclic; tetracyclic (usually), or tricyclic. Floral receptacle developing an androphore to developing a gynophore (e.g. sometimes in Dodonaea, by elongation of the disk of female and bisexual flowers), or with neither androphore nor gynophore. Free hypanthium absent. Hypogynous disk present (usually), or absent (or at least indistinct, e.g in Dodonaea); extrastaminal (the stamens usually inserted within it, occasionally upon it); annular or one-sided.
Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla (usually), or sepaline (the corolla occasionally lacking); (3-)4-5(-7) (rarely), or 8, or 9, or 10; 1 whorled (rarely), or 2 whorled (usually); isomerous, or anisomerous (e.g. when the abaxial petal is lacking). Calyx (3-)4, or 5(-7); 1 whorled; polysepalous (usually), or partially gamosepalous (sometimes ostensibly 4-merous), or gamosepalous (sometimes basally connate). Sometimes 2 of the members joined. Calyx unequal but not bilabiate, or regular; imbricate (usually), or valvate; when K5, with the odd member posterior. Corolla 4, or 5; 1 whorled; appendiculate (often, the appendages basal, scalelike), or not appendiculate; gamopetalous (usually), or polypetalous (e.g. Koelreuteria); imbricate; unequal but not bilabiate, or regular.
Androecium 8, or 10 (usually), or 4-5(-6), or 11-100 (i.e. sometimes `many'). Androecial members free of the perianth; free of one another; 2 - whorled (rather theoretically 5+5), or 1 - whorled, or 2-5 - whorled (sometimes polystemonous in several indistinct series, in Distichostemon). Androecium of male-fertile flowers exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 4-5(-6) (rarely), or 8, or 10, or 11-100 (rarely `many'); isomerous with the perianth (rarely, e.g. in Ganophyllum), or diplostemonous to polystemonous (usually); filantherous (the filaments often hairy). Anthers dorsifixed, or basifixed (to slightly ventrifixed); more or less versatile; dehiscing via longitudinal slits; introrse; tetrasporangiate; appendaged (usually), or unappendaged. The anther appendages apical (by connective extension). Endothecium developing fibrous thickenings. Microsporogenesis simultaneous. The initial microspore tetrads tetrahedral, or isobilateral. Anther wall initially with one middle layer, or initially with more than one middle layer. Tapetum glandular. Pollen grains aperturate; (2-)3(-4) - aperturate; colporate (usually tricolporate, sometimes bicolporate, sometimes syncolporate), or porate (rarely 3-4 porate); 2-celled.
Gynoecium (2-)3(-8). Carpels reduced in number relative to the perianth, or isomerous with the perianth. Gynoecium syncarpous; synovarious to eu-syncarpous; superior. Ovary (2-)3(-8) locular. Gynoecium stylate. Styles 1 (usually), or 2-4; free, or partially joined; attenuate from the ovary, or from a depression at the top of the ovary (rarely, from between the ovary lobes); apical. Stigmas wet type; non-papillate; Group IV type. Placentation axile to basal. Ovules 1(-2) per locule, or 2-5 per locule (Dodonaeoideae); funicled, or sessile (then attached to placental protuberances); pendulous, or horizontal, or ascending; arillate (usually), or non-arillate; hemianatropous, or anatropous, or campylotropous, or amphitropous; bitegmic; crassinucellate. Outer integument contributing to the micropyle, or not contributing to the micropyle. Embryo-sac development Polygonum-type. Polar nuclei fusing prior to fertilization. Antipodal cells formed; 3; proliferating (forming up to 14 cells), or not proliferating; ephemeral. Synergids hooked. Endosperm formation nuclear. Embryogeny asterad.
Fruit fleshy, or non-fleshy; dehiscent, or indehiscent, or a schizocarp; when non-schizocarpic a capsule, or a berry, or a drupe, or a nut, or a samara. Capsules loculicidal, or splitting irregularly, or circumscissile. Seeds non-endospermic; with amyloid, or without amyloid. Cotyledons 2 (often plicate or twisted). Embryo chlorophyllous (4/6), or achlorophyllous (4/4); curved, or bent, or coiled.
Seedling. Germination phanerocotylar, or cryptocotylar.
Physiology, biochemistry. Cyanogenic, or not cyanogenic. Cynogenic constituents leucine-derived (and CN lipids). Alkaloids present, or absent. Iridoids absent. Proanthocyanidins present; cyanidin, or cyanidin and delphinidin. Flavonols present; quercetin, or kaempferol and quercetin, or quercetin and myricetin, or kaempferol, quercetin, and myricetin. Ellagic acid absent (6 species, 5 genera). Saponins/sapogenins present, or absent. Aluminium accumulation not found. C3 and CAM. C3 recorded in Cardiospermum. CAM recorded in Dodonaea (non-succulent). Anatomy non-C4 type (Nephelium).
Geography, cytology. Temperate to tropical. Pantropical and subtropical, also Japan, and widespread in Australasia. X = 10-16.
Taxonomy. Subclass Dicotyledonae; Crassinucelli. Dahlgren's Superorder Rutiflorae; Sapindales. Cronquist's Subclass Rosidae; Sapindales. Takhtajan's Subclass Rosidae; Rutanae; Sapindales. Species 2000. Genera about 140; Alectryon, Blighia, Cardiospermum, Cossinia, Cupania, Distichostemon, Dodonaea, Harpullia, Hornea, Koelreuteria, Lepidopetum, Litchi, Magonia, Molinaea, Nephelium, Pappea, Paullinia, Pseudopteris, Sapindus, Schleichera, Serjania, Talisia, Thouinia, Urvillea, Xeropspermum, Zollingeria, etc.
Economic uses, etc. Fruits: `Spanish lime' (Melicocca), litchi and longan (Litchi spp.), pulusan and rambutan (Nephelium spp.); Blighea with edible arils (`akee').
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