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Concept
Chloranthaceae
Summary
Chloranthaceae ˌklɔərænˈθeɪʃiː is a family of flowering plants (angiosperms), the only family in the order Chloranthales. It is not closely related to any other family of flowering plants, and is among the early-diverging lineages in the angiosperms. They are woody or weakly woody plants occurring in Southeast Asia, the Pacific, Madagascar, Central and South America, and the West Indies. The family consists of four extant genera, totalling about 77 known species according to Christenhusz and Byng in 2016. Some species are used in traditional medicine. The type genus is Chloranthus. The fossil record of the family, mostly represented by pollen such as Clavatipollenites, extends back to the dawn of the history of flowering plants in the Early Cretaceous, and has been found on all continents.
Chloranthaceae are fragrant shrubs or herbaceous plants, that only produce side branches on the new growth. The stems are mostly cylindrical, with solid internodes, thickened nodes in many species, that carry evergreen leaves arranged in pairs on opposite sides of the stem, with stipules that have merged with that of the opposing leaf. The small flowers are seated directly on the axis of the inflorescence. Petals are absent in this family, and sometimes so are sepals. The flowers can be either hermaphrodite or of separate sexes. The fruit is a drupe or berry, consisting of one carpel.
The four genera assigned to this family can be distinguished from each other by the following characters:
Sarcandra species are shrubs whose wood lacks vessels. They have bisexual flowers, with only one, club-shaped, stamen, in which the connective tissue (between the anther lobes which carry the pollen) is wide, and with a smooth and moist stigma. This genus has four species, which occur in Malaysia, China, Indochina, Japan, India, and Sri Lanka.
Chloranthus species are dwarf shrubs or herbaceous plants, with xylem that contains vessels. Flowers are bisexual, each of which bears three stamens on straight filaments with three anther lobes and a wide connective, and with a smooth and moist stigma.
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