CHRYSOBALANACEAE
Morphological description
Woody, non-climbing.
Leaves
Leaves alternate, simple, entire, penninerved, stipulate. Glands at base of lamina (Maranthes, Parastemon); leaves white hairy, venation scalariform (Parinari)
Flowers
Flowers zygomorphic, with a hollow receptacle (hypanthium); sepals 5, petals 5, free; ovary superior, style lateral or basal, stamens numerous.
Fruit
Fruit a drupe, usually with endocarp with ‘plugs’ that allow germinating seedling to escape. Sometimes fruit warty (Parinari) or fruits flat (Hunga).
Different from: Rosaceae: leaves often serrate, flowers actinomorphic, ovary often inferior, style terminal.
Distribution: The family pantropical. In Malesia 7 genera, nearly all confined to lowland and lower montane rain forest, incl.: - Atuna (Malesia, Pacific); - Maranthes (pantropical); - Parinari (pantropical).
Notes: The family was formerly included in the Rosaceae. — The fruits of many species are eaten by birds. — Some species produce timber.
Literature: G.T. Prance & F. White, The genera of Chrysobalanaceae. Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. London B, 320 (1988) 1-184; G.T. Prance, Fl. Males. I, 10 (1989) 635-678.
Spot characters (Van Balgooy): Atuna venation scalariform, ruminate endosperm; Kostermanthus stamens numerous, ruminate endosperm; Maranthes glands on petiole or lamina, venation scalariform, stamens numerous; Parastemon glands on petiole or lamina, style excentric; Parinari terminalia branching, scales (p.p.), glands on petiole or lamina, stipules clasping (p.p.),venation scalariform, fruits spiny/muricate (p.p.).
Illustrations: Fig. 28. G.T. Prance & F. White, The genera of Chrysobalanaceae. Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. London B, 320 (1988) 1-184; G.T. Prance, Fl. Males. I, 10 (1989) 635-678.
Image in PhytoImages for Chrysobalanaceae