The World Flora Online

Herbs or shrubs, usually with twining or climbing stems or erect, often with milky juice. Leaves alternate, simple, entire, dissected, or compound, absent in parasitic species. Flowers solitary, axillary or in cymes, racemes, panicles, umbels, or capitula, bisexual, actinomorphic, usually 5-merous, often showy. Sepals free, often persistent, sometimes enlarged in fruit. Corolla sympetalous, funnelform, campanulate, salverform, or urceolate; limb subentire or deeply lobed. Stamens alternating with corolla lobes, adnate to corolla; filaments filiform, equal or unequal in length; anthers introrse, laterally and longitudinally dehiscing; pollen smooth or finely spiny. Disc ringlike or cupular. Ovary superior, mostly 2-carpellate, 1- or 2-loculed, rarely 3- or 4-loculed; ovules basal, erect. Styles 1 or 2, terminal (gynobasic in Dichondra) or very short or absent; stigma entire or 2- (or 3)-lobed, rarely peltate. Fruit a capsule, dehiscing by valves, circumscissile, or irregularly shattering, less often a berry or nutlike. Seeds usually trigonous, smooth or pubescent.

Fruit a capsule or fleshy Seeds sometimes hairy, with rather scanty endosperm and more or less curved embryo Cotyledons folded or crumpled Sepals usually free, imbricate, persistent Corolla gamopetalous, mostly funnel-shaped, lobes 5, contorted Stamens 5, inserted towards the base of the corolla-tube and alternate with the lobes; anthers 2-celled, opening lengthwise Ovary often surrounded by a disk, 1-4-celled; ovules solitary or paired, erect; style terminal Flowers hermaphrodite, actinomorphic; bracts often forming an involucre Herbaceous or woody plants, often climbing, juice usually milky Leaves alternate, simple; stipules absent Seeds sometimes hairy, with rather scanty endosperm and more or less curved embryo Cotyledons folded or crumpled Sepals usually free, imbricate, persistent Corolla gamopetalous, mostly funnel-shaped, lobes 5, contorted Stamens 5, inserted towards the base of the corolla-tube and alternate with the lobes; anthers 2-celled, opening lengthwise Ovary often surrounded by a disk, 1-4-celled; ovules solitary or paired, erect; style terminal Flowers hermaphrodite, actinomorphic; bracts often forming an involucre Herbaceous or woody plants, often climbing, juice usually milky Leaves alternate, simple; stipules absent

Fls perfect, hypogynous, sympetalous, 5-merous; sep in most genera distinct or connate only at the base, often unequal; cor regular, commonly funnelform, scarcely to evidently lobed, commonly induplicate-valvate and often also convolute in bud, or merely convolute when more strongly lobed; stamens as many as and alternate with the lobes or connate members of the cor, attached toward the base of the cor-tube, the filaments often unequal; ovary superior, with 2(–5) carpels and locules and with a terminal, simple or often deeply cleft style or distinct styles, seldom (as in Dichondra) the ovary deeply bilobed with the segments united mainly by the base of the deeply cleft gynobasic style; ovules mostly 2 per carpel, basal or basal-axile, erect, apotropous, the micropyle directed downward and outward; fr usually capsular, seldom indehiscent; embryo large, with 2 plicate, often bifid cotyledons, embedded in the hard, often cartilaginous endosperm; mostly (incl. all our spp.) herbs, commonly twining and climbing or prostrate, seldom erect or even arborescent shrubs, with alternate, simple, exstipulate lvs; fls often showy, commonly subtended by a pair of bracts, these sometimes enlarged and forming an involucre. 50/1500, nearly cosmop.

Seeds 1–4 (rarely 6 or 10), with endosperm Styles 1–2(–3), simple and terminal; stigmas 1–4, variously shaped Fruit usually dry and capsular, rarely a berry or nut-like Sepals 4–5, imbricate, free or joined at the base, often accrescent Corolla sympetalous, variable but often funnel-shaped or salver-shaped, entire or 4–5-lobed, induplicate-valvate or contorted Stamens (3–)4–5, inserted in the corolla-tube, alternating with the lobes; pollen smooth or spinulose Ovary superior, entire or 2–4-lobed, of 2–3 carpels, 1–4 (very rarely 3 or 5)-locular Flowers usually bracteate, axillary or terminal, solitary or in various inflorescences, almost always regular, hermaphrodite save in a very few small genera Leaves alternate, exstipulate, usually simple, entire or often lobed Herbs, shrubs or leafless parasites, rarely small trees, frequently twining or prostrate, less often erect Styles 1–2(–3), simple and terminal; stigmas 1–4, variously shaped Fruit usually dry and capsular, rarely a berry or nut-like Sepals 4–5, imbricate, free or joined at the base, often accrescent Corolla sympetalous, variable but often funnel-shaped or salver-shaped, entire or 4–5-lobed, induplicate-valvate or contorted Stamens (3–)4–5, inserted in the corolla-tube, alternating with the lobes; pollen smooth or spinulose Ovary superior, entire or 2–4-lobed, of 2–3 carpels, 1–4 (very rarely 3 or 5)-locular Flowers usually bracteate, axillary or terminal, solitary or in various inflorescences, almost always regular, hermaphrodite save in a very few small genera Leaves alternate, exstipulate, usually simple, entire or often lobed Herbs, shrubs or leafless parasites, rarely small trees, frequently twining or prostrate, less often erect

This is an extremely natural family and the genera are therefore difficult to limit satisfactorily. I have followed the classification used by van Ooststroom (Flora Malesiana, ser. 1, 4 (4) : 388–512 (1953)) with but few changes. It seems best to do this rather than to attempt to classify the family on different lines from a knowledge of the African genera alone. The original arrangement which is due to Hans Hallier has the drawback of using a pollen-character. In the key which follows, the obligatory use of this character, which is not really difficult to observe, has been left until near the end. It is helpful to remember that genera 1–15 have smooth pollen and the rest have spinous pollen

Fruit usually dry, a loculicidal (or sometimes irregularly dehiscent) capsule, or less often indehiscent and baccate or nut-like Seeds 1–4 (rarely 6 or 10) with endosperm; embryo large, straight or curved, with 2 plicate, often bifid cotyledons, embedded in a hard, often cartilaginous endosperm Herbs or shrubs, rarely small trees, frequently twining or prostrate, less often erect, provided with diverse sorts of glandular and eglandular hairs, besides simple, 2-armed or stellate hairs Flowers often large and showy, usually bracteate, axillary or terminal, solitary or in various inflorescences, almost always regular, bisexual save in a very few small genera, 5-merous as to the calyx, corolla and androecium (4-merous in Hildebrandtia) Leaves alternate, exstipulate, usually simple, entire or toothed to often lobed Corolla sympetalous, variable but often funnel-shaped or salver-shaped, entire or 4–5-lobed, induplicate-valvate or contorted Sepals imbricate, sometimes unequal, generally free or connate at the base, often accrescent Ovary superior, entire or 2–4-lobed, of 2(3–5) carpels united, (1) 4 (3–5)-locular, usually with an annular nectary-disk around the base; styles 1–2 (3) mostly terminal; stigmas 1–4 variously shaped; ovules 2 per carpel (rarely many in Humbertia), basal or basal-axile, erect, anatropous Stamens as many as and alternate with lobes or connate members of the corolla, inserted in the corolla tube; filaments often unequal; anthers tetrasporangiate or dithecal, opening by longitudinal slits; pollen smooth or spinulose Seeds 1–4 (rarely 6 or 10) with endosperm; embryo large, straight or curved, with 2 plicate, often bifid cotyledons, embedded in a hard, often cartilaginous endosperm Herbs or shrubs, rarely small trees, frequently twining or prostrate, less often erect, provided with diverse sorts of glandular and eglandular hairs, besides simple, 2-armed or stellate hairs Flowers often large and showy, usually bracteate, axillary or terminal, solitary or in various inflorescences, almost always regular, bisexual save in a very few small genera, 5-merous as to the calyx, corolla and androecium (4-merous in Hildebrandtia) Leaves alternate, exstipulate, usually simple, entire or toothed to often lobed Corolla sympetalous, variable but often funnel-shaped or salver-shaped, entire or 4–5-lobed, induplicate-valvate or contorted Sepals imbricate, sometimes unequal, generally free or connate at the base, often accrescent Ovary superior, entire or 2–4-lobed, of 2(3–5) carpels united, (1) 4 (3–5)-locular, usually with an annular nectary-disk around the base; styles 1–2 (3) mostly terminal; stigmas 1–4 variously shaped; ovules 2 per carpel (rarely many in Humbertia), basal or basal-axile, erect, anatropous Stamens as many as and alternate with lobes or connate members of the corolla, inserted in the corolla tube; filaments often unequal; anthers tetrasporangiate or dithecal, opening by longitudinal slits; pollen smooth or spinulose