Smilacaceae

The piercing wind plants ( Smilacaceae ) are a family in the order of the lily -like ( Liliales ). It includes only two genera with about 315 species.

• 4.1 Notes and references

Description

Vegetative characteristics

There are prickly, evergreen, perennial, woody or herbaceous plants that grow climbing in different ways. They form rhizomes or tubers as outlasting. Aboveground plant parts can be hairy in some species. It is cork cambium present. Secondary growth is not present.

The mostly alternate, sometimes opposite, stalked to almost sessile leaves are coarse, leathery, unpleasant smelling, simple and entire, with reticulate venation. In some species the leaves smell unpleasant. The stomata are anomocytisch.

Generative features

They are dioecious getrenntgeschlechtig ( dioecious ). The flowers are individually or assembled into different, for example doldigen, aged men or racemose inflorescences together. The unisexual flowers are radial symmetry and threefold. There are two circles, each with three bloom cladding present, which are identical or different and may be designed to more or less grown up free. The bloom of the inner circles can be reduced or fringed. In the male flowers are usually six, rarely three, nine, twelve, 15 or 18 fertile stamens present, which may be free or fused. In the female flowers is rarely only one carpel available, usually three carpels are fused to an upper constant, usually dreifächerigen ovary. There are one or two ovules per ovary partition available. The most three pen have grown freely or in part. Pollination is by insects ( entomophily ).

Are formed fleshy berries, which contain mostly one to three seeds. The seeds have oily endosperm and a usually small, well-developed embryo. The seed coat ( testa) contains no Phytomelan.

As chromosome numbers n = 10, 13-16 were determined.

Ingredients

There are saponins present.

Dissemination

The distribution is pantropical and some taxa are in the moderate latitudes.

System

The Smilacaceae family was erected in 1799 under the name " Smilaceae " by Étienne Pierre Ventenat in Tableau du Regne Vegetal, 2, p 146. Type genus is Smilax L.. Previously, the species contained herein has been classified in the family Liliaceae.

To the family of the piercing wind plants ( Smilacaceae ) include only two genera with about 315 species:

• Heterosmilax Kunth (syn.: Oligosmilax Seem, Pseudosmilax Hayata. ): The approximately 13 species are widespread in Asia.

Swell

• The Smilacaceae in APWebsite family. (Section Description and systematics)
• The Smilacaceae family at DELTA by L. Watson & MJ Dallwitz. ( Description section )
• Walter C. Holmes: Flora of North America, Vol 26, 2002, p 468: Online.
• Chen Shi- Chao, Qiu Ying- Xiong, Wang Ai- Li, Kenneth M. Cameron & Fu Cheng- Xin: A phylogenetic analysis of the Smilacaceae based on morphological data, In: Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica, Volume 44 (2 ), 2006, pp. 113-125.