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Myoporaceae R.Br.

This name is not current. Find out more information on related names.

Reference
Prodr.Fl.Nov.Holland. 514 (1810)
Name Status
Not Current
Image

Scientific Description

Common name. Myoporum Family.

Habit and leaf form. Small trees, or shrubs; deciduous; resinous, or not resinous. Young stems cylindrical. Mesophytic, or xerophytic. Leaves minute to small (often), or medium-sized; alternate, or opposite (rarely), or whorled (rarely); usually spiral; often more or less leathery; petiolate to sessile; non-sheathing; gland-dotted (often), or not gland-dotted (Oftia); simple; epulvinate. Leaf blades entire. Leaves without stipules. Leaf blade margins entire, or crenate, or serrate, or dentate. Leaves without a persistent basal meristem. Stem anatomy. Nodes unilacunar. Secondary thickening developing from a conventional cambial ring.

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

Inflorescence and flower features. Flowers solitary, or aggregated in ‘inflorescences’; in cymes. The terminal inflorescence unit cymose. Inflorescences axillary. Flowers ebracteate; small, or medium-sized; regular to very irregular; mostly more or less zygomorphic. The floral asymmetry involving the androecium, or involving the perianth and involving the androecium (not the calyx). Flowers 5 merous; cyclic; tetracyclic. Free hypanthium absent. Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla; (9–)10; 2 -whorled; isomerous, or anisomerous (rarely). Calyx (4–)5; 1 -whorled; more or less polysepalous, or gamosepalous; when gamosepalous, lobed; basally imbricate, or valvate, or open in bud; regular, or unequal but not bilabiate to bilabiate; persistent (scarious); accrescent (often), or non-accrescent; with the median member posterior. Corolla more or less disguisedly 5; 1 -whorled; gamopetalous; lobed. Corolla lobes markedly shorter than the tube to markedly longer than the tube. Corolla imbricate; bilabiate (often, more or less), or regular to unequal but not bilabiate. Androecium (3–)4(–5). Androecial members adnate (to the corolla tube); all equal, or markedly unequal (usually); free of one another; 1 -whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens (the upper, posterior member lacking), or including staminodes. Staminodes when present, 1; representing the posterior median member. Stamens (3–)4(–5); becoming exserted, or remaining included; when didynamous, i.e. usually, didynamous; reduced in number relative to the adjacent perianth (usually), or isomerous with the perianth; fertile stamens representing the posterior-lateral pair and the anterior-lateral pair; oppositisepalous; all alternating with the corolla members. Anthers connivent, or separate from one another; dorsifixed; versatile; dehiscing via longitudinal slits, or dehiscing transversely; introrse; unilocular (the cells confluent). Gynoecium 2 carpelled. The pistil 2 celled, or 3–10 celled (by secondary segmentation of the locules). Carpels reduced in number relative to the perianth. Gynoecium syncarpous; synstylovarious to eu-syncarpous; superior. Ovary plurilocular; 2 locular. Locules secondarily divided by ‘false septa’, or without ‘false septa’. Gynoecium median; stylate. Styles 1; from a depression at the top of the ovary; apical. Stigmas 1; 1–2 - lobed; dry type; papillate; Group II type. Placentation axile, or apical. Ovules (1–)2 per locule (from near the summit), or 4–8 per locule (superposed in pairs); pendulous; non-arillate; anatropous.

Fruit and seed features. Fruit fleshy to non-fleshy; indehiscent; a drupe. The drupes with separable pyrenes (othe segments one-seeded). Seeds scantily endospermic, or non-endospermic. Cotyledons 2. Embryo straight. Seedling. Germination phanerocotylar.

Physiology, biochemistry. Aluminium accumulation not found.

Special features. Calyx limb when gamosepalous, (4–)5 lobed. The upper lip of the corolla incorporating 2 members, the lower 3, or incorporating 4 members, the lower 1; (posterior, adaxial) lip of the corolla bilobed to 4 lobed. Lower (abaxial) lip of the corolla entire to 3 lobed.

Geography, cytology, number of species. World distribution: mainly Australasia and the South Pacific islands, a few in South Africa, Mauritius, Eastern Asia, Hawaii, West Indies. X = 27. 90 species.