Habit and leaf form. Small trees, or shrubs, or lianas. Climbing (mostly), or self supporting; often stem twiners. Mesophytic. Leaves opposite; petiolate, or sessile (rarely); gland-dotted (often), or not gland-dotted; simple. Lamina entire; pinnately veined; cross-venulate. Leaves stipulate, or exstipulate. Stipules interpetiolar, or intrapetiolar; free of one another, or concrescent; often rudimentary, sometimes large. Lamina margins entire. Leaves without a persistent basal meristem. Domatia recorded (Acridocarpus); represented by hair tufts.
Leaf anatomy. Mucilaginous epidermis present, or absent. Hairs present; unicellular. Unicellular hairs branched (peculiar). Urticating hairs present (occasionally), or absent.
Minor leaf veins without phloem transfer cells (Malpighia).
Stem anatomy. Cork cambium present; initially deep-seated (rarely), or superficial. Nodes tri-lacunar, or unilacunar. Internal phloem present, or absent. Secondary thickening anomalous (frequently), or developing from a conventional cambial ring; from a single cambial ring. The secondary phloem stratified into hard (fibrous) and soft (parenchymatous) zones, or not stratified. `Included' phloem present (commonly), or absent. Xylem with libriform fibres; with vessels. Vessel end-walls simple. Vessels with vestured pits. Wood parenchyma apotracheal, or paratracheal, or apotracheal and paratracheal (predominantly paratracheal in most genera, but predominantly apotracheal in a few including Malpighia).
Reproductive type, pollination. Hermaphrodite (usually), or polygamomonoecious (rarely). Entomophilous.
Inflorescence, floral, fruit and seed morphology. Flowers aggregated in `inflorescences'; in cymes, in racemes, in umbels, and in panicles. The terminal inflorescence unit cymose. Inflorescences terminal, or axillary; often racemes of cymes. Flowers (two) bracteolate; regular to very irregular; zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical). The floral asymmetry involving the androecium, or involving the perianth and involving the androecium. Flowers 5 merous; cyclic; pentacyclic. Free hypanthium absent. Hypogynous disk `inconspicuous' or absent.
Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla; 10; 2 whorled; isomerous. Calyx 5; 1 whorled; polysepalous, or gamosepalous (sometimes basally connate); imbricate (often with two large glands at the bases of the outside members). Corolla 5; 1 whorled; polypetalous; imbricate, or contorted. Petals clawed; often fringed.
Androecium 10 (usually), or 5. Androecial members free of the perianth; coherent; 1 - adelphous (the filaments basally connate); (1-)2(-3) - whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens, or including staminodes (the members opposite the petals sometimes staminodal or missing). Staminodes 1-5. Stamens 10 (usually), or 5; isomerous with the perianth to diplostemonous; alternisepalous (usually, the outer whorl opposite the petals), or oppositisepalous (when only the inner whorl present, or the outer whorl staminodal). Anthers dehiscing via longitudinal slits, or dehiscing via pores (rarely, with terminal pores); introrse; tetrasporangiate; appendaged (winged or with the connective prolonged/glandular), or unappendaged. Endothecium developing fibrous thickenings. Anther epidermis persistent. Microsporogenesis simultaneous. The initial microspore tetrads tetrahedral, or isobilateral, or decussate. Anther wall initially with more than one middle layer. Tapetum glandular. Pollen grains aperturate; 3-5 - aperturate, or 4-12 - aperturate; porate, or colporate, or foraminate (3-5 colporate, or oligoforate); 2-celled.
Gynoecium (2-)3(-5) (often with one or more carpels aborting). Carpels isomerous with the perianth (usually), or reduced in number relative to the perianth (rarely). Gynoecium apocarpous, or syncarpous; eu-apocarpous, or semicarpous, or synovarious; superior. Carpel stylate; when apocarpous, 1 ovuled. Placentation marginal. Ovary when syncarpous, (2-)3(-5) locular. The `odd' carpel obliquely positioned (when G3 (i.e. usually)). Gynoecium stylate. Styles (2-)3(-5); free; apical. Stigmas dry type; papillate; Group II type. Placentation when syncarpous, axile, or apical. Ovules 1 per locule; pendulous; with ventral raphe; hemianatropous; bitegmic; crassinucellate. Outer integument contributing to the micropyle, or not contributing to the micropyle. Embryo-sac development Allium-type, or Penaea-type. Polar nuclei fusing prior to fertilization. Antipodal cells formed; 3; not proliferating; ephemeral. Endosperm formation nuclear. Endosperm haustoria present; chalazal. Embryogeny solanad (or adventive).
Fruit non-fleshy (usually), or fleshy; multiple, or not multiple. The units of apocarpous forms coalescing into a secondary syncarp, or not coalescent. The fruiting carpel indehiscent; samaroid, or drupaceous, or nucular. Fruit of syncarpous forms indehiscent, or a schizocarp; when schizocarpic comprising mericarps, or comprising samaras (often), or comprising drupelets; when non-schizocarpic, a drupe, or a nut. Seeds non-endospermic. Cotyledons 2. Embryo straight, or curved (or hooked), or coiled (rarely).
Seedling. Germination phanerocotylar, or cryptocotylar.
Physiology, biochemistry. Cyanogenic (doubtfully), or not cyanogenic. Alkaloids present, or absent. Iridoids absent. Proanthocyanidins present, or absent; when present, cyanidin. Flavonols present, or absent; kaempferol, or kaempferol and quercetin. Ellagic acid absent (4 species, 4 genera). Saponins/sapogenins present (rarely), or absent. Aluminium accumulation not found. Inulin recorded. Anatomy non-C4 type (Tristellateia).
Geography, cytology. Sub-tropical to tropical. Pantropical, concentrated in South America. X = 6, 9-12(+).
Taxonomy. Subclass Dicotyledonae; Crassinucelli. Dahlgren's Superorder Rutiflorae; Polygalales. Cronquist's Subclass Rosidae; Polygalales. Takhtajan's Subclass Rosidae; Rutanae; Polygalales. Species 1100. Genera about 65; Acmanthera, Acridocarpus, Aspicarpa, Aspidopterys, Banisteriopsis, Barnebya, Blepharandra, Brachylophon, Bunchosia, Burdachia, Byrsonema, Callaeum, Calyptostylis, Camarea, Caucanthus, Clonodia, Coleostachys, Cordobia, Diacidia, Dicella, Digoniopterys, Dinemagonum, Dinemandra, Diplopterys, Echinopterys, Ectopopterys, Flabellaria, Gallardoa, Galphimia, Gaudichaudia, Glandonia, Heladena, Henleophytum, Heteropterys, Hiptage, Hiraea, Janusia, Jubelina, Lasiocarpus, Lophanthera, Lophopterys, Malpighia, Mascagnia, Mcvaughia, Mezia, Microsteira, Mionandra, Peixotoa, Peregrina, Philgamia, Pterandra, Ptilochaeta, Rhynchophora, Rhyssopteris, Spachea, Sphedamnocarpus, Stigmaphyllon, Tetrapteris, Thryallis, Triaspis, Tricomaria, Triopteris, Tristellateia, Verrucularia.
Economic uses, etc. Edible fruit from Malphigia glabra (Brasilian cherry, pitanga etc.).
Illustrations. malpi306.gif malpi299.gif malpi388.gif
Additional, to be intercalated. Thryallis twining anticlockwise.
