Nyctaginaceae

Vielblütige miracle flower ( Mirabilis multiflora )

The miracle flower plants ( Nyctaginaceae ) form a family in the order of cloves -like ( Caryophyllales ) within the angiosperms. Except as ornamental plants are used by humans only a few species.

  • 4.1 Notes and references

Description

Habit and foliage leaves

They often grow as an annual to perennial herbaceous plants; or there are woody plants: shrubs, rarely trees, sometimes spiny climbing plants and some Pisonia species are lianas. The roots are fibrous or often fleshy or tuberous roots form from. The Stems are usually self erect, rarely crawling or climbing in on other plants. In some herbaceous species, the nodes ( more nodes ) are significantly thickened. It is often abnormal Secondary growth exist. The sieve tube plastids are P-type. Often the wood oxidized as soon as it is cut; example, it is orange or red- brown. The terminal buds are often brown -intensive. There are some gypsum -tolerant species that are often endemic.

The leaves are usually opposite, rarely alternate or spirally arranged. The pairs of leaves are sometimes unequal. It is usually a petiole present. The simple leaf blade is herbaceous or sometimes fleshy to succulent, smooth to hairy surface and smooth to gebuchtetem margin. Often the leaves are dark gray on drying. Stipules absent.

Inflorescences and flowers

The flowers are sometimes individually, usually they are in axillary or terminal usually, often simple composite inflorescences of zymösen, doldigen, racemose or frets then part inflorescences. The sometimes conspicuous and brightly colored bracts are sometimes fused and sometimes form a cup- like sheath ( involucre ) around a portion inflorescence of one to 80 flowers.

The radial symmetry flowers are usually hermaphrodite or rarely unisexual. If the flowers are unisexual, the plants are monoecious getrenntgeschlechtig ( monoecious ). Most five (three to ten) sepals are fused Roehrig and often see kronblattartig from; there are the scenes organs of these flowers. Petals absent. The usually three to five (one to 18, rarely to 30) stamens are often grown together at the base. The pollen grains are 3 - to 18 - COLPAT or 12 - Porat. With about 200 microns in length are the pollen grains in some taxa, in addition to the even larger at the water plant species of Cymodoceaceae ( Alismatales ), with the largest within the angiosperms. It's just a constant upper carpel with a single ovule in free central placentation exists, but which through which it closely enveloping sepals acts under constant. The thin style ends in a capitate to spherical or thin scar that sometimes has a tuft of hair. The nectar is at the base of the flower. Many kinds (of Anulocaulis, Cyphomeris, Acleisanthes, Mirabilis, Abronia, Tripterocalyx ) bloom in the evening or at night (hence the English common name "four o'clock family" ) and are pollinated by moths. Both cleistogame ( closed and self-fertile ) and chasmogame (open) flowers are in four genera ( Acleisanthes, Cyphomeris, Nyctaginia, Mirabilis ) formed.

Fruit and seeds

The fruits are achenes or nut- like, winged or ribbed, are also at maturity still enveloped by the meats, leathery or woody base of the calyx and contain only one seed; all this as " Anthokarp " designated entity often has drupe -like. The distribution of diaspore is often epizoochorisch because the fruits are sticky through gland secretions ( at Acleisanthes, Allionia, Boerhavia, Cyphomeris, many Anulocaulis and many Mirabilis species). In other taxa, the fruits have wing-like structures that serve to wind dispersal. The starchy seeds have a well-developed, large, green embryo, which is usually curved or rarely straight.

Ingredients and sets of chromosomes

There are betalains and isoflavonoids present. Of flavonols kaempferol and / or quercetin are present. There may be cyanidin. There are akkumiliert as raphides of calcium oxalate crystals. Physiology in the C3 - type ( Bougainvillea, Mirabilis ) or C4 - type ( Allionia, Boerhaavia ) has been documented in some taxa.

The base chromosome numbers amount to the extent known, n = 9, 10, 11 (8 to 13 ) (of many species are the basis of the number of chromosomes is not known); of chromosome number 2n = 20 to 2n = 136 is reported. Polyploidy and aneuploidy play in the evolution within individual taxa an important role.

Systematics and distribution

The distribution is mainly pantropical. The focus of biodiversity lie in the Neotropics, for a woody taxa ( Bougainvillea, Guapira, Neea, Pisonia ) or herbaceous taxa ( Colignonia, Salpianthus ) in tropical areas of South America and the Caribbean, on the other xerophytic taxa ( Abronia, Acleisanthes, Boerhavia, Commicarpus, mirabilis) in the arid regions of North America. They thrive mostly in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate areas.

The first publication of the family was made in 1789 by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu under the name Nyctagines Genera Plantarum in, 90 type genus is Nyctago Juss. Today a synonym of L. mirabilis, which was published in 1753 in Species Plantarum, 1, 177. Synonyms for Nyctaginaceae Juss. are: Allioniaceae Horan, Bougainvilleaceae J.Agardh, Mirabilidaceae WRBOliv, Pisoniaceae J.Agardh. ..

The delimitation of genera and of six to eight tribes of Nyctaginaceae is difficult and led to many synonyms. In the past, the family has been most intensively processed by Heimerl in The natural plant families in 1889, 1934 and Standley 1909, 1911, 1918, 1931. Many species contain only a few species and in the processing of GHM Lawrence in 1951 even 50 % are monotypic. Bittrich and Kühn In 1993, a complete classification of the family in the tribe and subtribe. From 2000, Levin published results of molecular genetic studies. Norman A. Douglas and Paul S. Manos 2007 discussed their own and previous studies.

Within the order of Caryophyllales in the group of betalainhaltigen families form the Phytolaccaceae with the Sarcobataceae and Nyctaginaceae a clade; these three families have in common is that they only have a single basal ovule in single carpel per flower.

The Nyctaginaceae family contains about 28 to 34 genera with about 300 to almost 400 species:

  • Abronia Juss. With about 20 to 33 herbaceous species in North America (19 species) and Mexico.
  • Acleisanthes A.Gray (including Ammocodon Standlschmaus and Selinocarpus A.Gray. ): With approximately seven to 17 perennial herbaceous species in the southwestern United States (12 species), in northern Mexico and northeastern Africa.
  • Allionia L. (syn.: Wedelia Loefl, Wedeliella Cockerell. ): With only two herbaceous species in the Neotropics.
  • Andradea Allemão, with only one type: Andradea floribunda Allemão; it occurs in southeastern Brazil.
  • Belemia fucsioides Pires in Brazil.
  • Caribea littoralis Alain: There is a growing on the coast of the southeastern endemic to Cuba.
  • Cryptocarpus pyriformis Kunth; it occurs in western South America and on the Galapagos Islands
  • Cuscatlania vulcanicola Standlschmaus. ; it occurs in Central America
  • Grajalesia fasciculata ( Standl. ) Miranda; it occurs in Mexico.
  • Leucaster caniflorus ( Mart. ) Choisy; it occurs in southeastern Brazil.
  • Neeopsis flavifolia ( Lundell ) Lundell; it occurs in Guatemala.
  • Nyctaginia capitata Choisy: A perennial herbaceous plant in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
  • Okenia hypogaea Schltdl. & Cham. An annual plant in the southern United States.
  • Phaeoptilum spinosum Radlk. ; it is found in southwestern Africa.
  • Pisoniella arborescens ( Lag & Rodr. ) Standlschmaus. ; it occurs in Mexico.
  • Ramisia brasiliensis Oliv.; it occurs in Brazil.
  • Salpianthus arenarius Humb. & Bonpl. ; it occurs in Mexico and Central America.

Use

Some species are used for human consumption: Abronia fragrans Nutt, Abronia latifolia Esch, Boerhavia diffusa L., Mirabilis expansa ( Ruiz. & Pav ) Standlschmaus, Mirabilis jalapa L. and Mirabilis multiflora ( Torr. ) A. Gray. .. .

Some species are used medicinally.

Few species and their varieties are ornamental plants: Bougainvillea varieties, miracle flower ( Mirabilis jalapa ) and Pisonia umbellifera.

Some Pisonia species the sticky pericarp of the fruit is used for catching birds.

  • Bougainvillea varieties with different colored bracts:

Swell

  • The Nyctaginaceae in APWebsite family. ( Section systematics and description)
  • Family description of Nyctaginaceae at DELTA by L. Watson & MJ Dallwitz. ( Description section )
  • Richard W. Spellenberg: Nyctaginaceae in the Flora of North America, Volume 4, page 14: Online. ( Description section )
  • Dequan Lu & Michael G. Gilbert: Nyctaginaceae in the Flora of China, Volume 5, page 430: Online. ( Description section )
  • Norman A. Douglas & Paul S. Manos: Molecular phylogeny of Nyctaginaceae: taxonomy, biogeography, and characters associated with a radiation of xerophytic genera in North America, in American Journal of Botany, 94 (5 ), 2007, pp. 856 -. 872: Online.
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