Loasaceae

Loasa vulcanica, flower

Flowers nettle plants ( Loasaceae ) are a family in the order of the dogwood -like ( Cornales ).

Features

All species of the family are annual or perennial, prostrate or erect -growing usually herbaceous plants, sometimes shrubs or small trees, rare -earth rosettes, vines or lianas. You can reach heights of growth of 5 centimeters to 10 meters.

They tend to have spirally arranged, compound leaves. The name flowers nettle plants they rightly pointed out, because on the one hand, many species have beautiful flowers, have on the other hand all kinds usually numerous existing, very diverse and mostly rigid hairs, which are formed in many species as very unpleasant stinging hairs. The stinging hairs have prevented further spread of us usually annuals cultivated species in gardens and parks.

The flowers are radial symmetry and usually fünfzählig ( four to siebenzählig ). Often, the petals are boat-shaped; it is each a tuft of stamens. The stamens bend on succession and the pollen is spread explosively. Prior to these stamen clusters are built extremely complicated and bright colored fabric. It is the nectar-producing organs of the flower, called nectaries; these are the result of the coalescence of sterile stamens ( staminodes so-called ). Depending on the species each different number of staminodes are involved in the formation of such Nektariums. The flowers are usually pollinated by insects; also in Central Europe, they attract a lot of hoverflies and bees. In a Loasa - kind in northern Argentina pollination was observed by field mice. The number of stamens is in the taxa differ: rarely five, usually 50 to 100 Top five ( or three to seven) carpels are at a more or less above permanent (as opposed to other families of the order ), ovary adherent ( synkarp ).

It is formed a capsule fruit; they may be clavate to globose, often it is twisted.

Dissemination

The center of diversity of the family is the Neotropics; where they are found from California to Patagonia, especially in Peru, Chile and Mexico. The genus Kissenia found in Africa and Arabia, Plakothira in Polynesia.

They grow in completely different habitats: from the extremely dry Atacama Desert in southern Peru and northern Chile to the very humid cloud forests of northwestern Colombia.

System

The flowers of the nettle family ( Loasaceae ) family is divided into four subfamilies and twenty genera with about 330 species, the subfamily Loasoideae is divided into two tribes:

• Gronovioideae Cevallia Lag: With only one type: Cevallia sinuata Lag; it occurs in southwestern North America

• Fuertesia dominguensis Urb.; it occurs only on Hispaniola

• Petalonychoideae Weigend PetalonyxA. Gray: With five species; they are found in southwestern North America

• Loasoideae Loaseae Aosa Weigend: with six species in eastern Brazil and a type which occurs in Hispaniola
• Blumenbachia Schrad. With 12 species; they are found in South America
• Caiophora C. Presl (syn.: C. Presl Cajophora ): With 34 species; they occur in the Andes of South America
• Chichicaste Weigend: With only one type: Chichicaste grandis ( Standl. ) Weigend; it comes from Costa Rica to northwestern Colombia ago

• Klaprothia Kunth: With two ways; they are found in tropical South America
• Plakothira Florence: With three kinds; they occur in the Marquesas
• Xylopodia Weigend: With only one type: Xylopodia klaprothioides Weigend; it occurs in Peru.

• Mentzelioideae Mentzelia L.: With about 80 species; they occur in the warmer regions of the Americas
• Eucnide Zucc: With 13 kinds, . they come in southwestern North America, particularly in Mexico before
• Schismocarpus S.F. Blake: With only one type: Schismocarpus pachypus S.F. Blake; it is found only in Mexico.