ACORACEAE
Morphological description
Aromatic glabrous herbs with creeping rhizomes. Growing in marshes or living as emergent aquatics. Rhizomes with specialized aromatic oil cells.
Leaves
Leaves linear (swordlike shape) with entire margin, and all facing the same side. The nerves are parallel. There is no difference between petiole and blade.
Inflorescence
Inflorescence a spadix without a spathe as in Araceae. The spadix is inserted lateral on a special leaf and the rest of the leaf is often described as the spathe. The flowers are bisexual and trimerous.
Fruit
Berries inserted on the axis of the spadix, each with some seeds.
Different from: Araceae: Acoraceae have an inflorescence without a spathe.
Distribution: The family has only one genus, Acora, that is native to East and Southeast Asia, but also naturalized for a long time in Europe and North America.
Notes: The genus Acora was once placed in Araceae but is recently treated in its own family Acoraceae and its own order Acorales.
Literature: Flora Malesiana, Series I, Volume 20 (2011) 1–13
Illustrations:
Image in PhytoImages for Acoraceae