NYSSACEAE
Morphological description
Trees.
Leaves
Leaves simple, usually entire, spiral, penninerved, exstipulate.
Inflorescence
Inflorescence a head.
Flowers
Flower unisexual, 5-merous, actinomorphic; petals free, intrastaminal disk present, usually stamens in two whorls of 8, inner often sterile; ovary inferior, 1-locular, 1 pendent ovule.
Fruit
Fruit a drupe.
Seed
Seed.
Different from: Cornaceae: leaves usually opposite, inflorescence never a head. — Araliaceae: leaves often compound, leaf base sheathing, plants aromatic.
Distribution: The only genus represented in East Asia and North America is Nyssa; N. javanica is a lowland and lower montane rain forest tree of West Malesia.
Notes: Fruits edible, but often infected by galls.
Literature: J. Wasscher, Fl. Males. I, 4 (1948) 29-31.
Spot characters (Van Balgooy): 58, 76, 89, 92.
Illustrations: Fig. 121. Nyssa javanica (Blume) Wang., showing habit, flower and fruit.
Image in PhytoImages for Nyssaceae