Carlemanniaceae Airy Shaw
~ Caprifoliaceae
Habit and leaf form. (Sub-) shrubs, or herbs. Perennial. Leaves opposite; petiolate; simple. Lamina conspicuously asymmetric, or not conspicuously asymmetric; cross-venulate. Leaves exstipulate (but the opposing petioles connected by a raised line). Lamina margins dentate.
Reproductive type, pollination. Plants hermaphrodite.
Inflorescence, floral, fruit and seed morphology. Flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’; in cymes (dense). The terminal inflorescence unit cymose. Inflorescences terminal, or axillary. Flowers somewhat irregular to very irregular; zygomorphic (to subregular); cyclic; tetracyclic. Free hypanthium absent.
Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla; 8, or 10; 2 whorled; isomerous. Calyx 4–5; polysepalous; more or less unequal; persistent; open in bud. Corolla 4–5; 1 whorled; gamopetalous; imbricate, or valvate (then induplicate).
Androecium 2. Androecial members adnate (to the corolla). Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 2; reduced in number relative to the adjacent perianth; shortly filantherous. Anthers connivent (around the style); sometimes latrorse. Pollen grains aperturate; 5–6 aperturate; colporate (colporoidate, with short furrows).
Gynoecium 2 carpelled. Carpels reduced in number relative to the perianth. The pistil 2 celled. Gynoecium syncarpous; eu-syncarpous; inferior. Ovary 2 locular. Epigynous disk present (conspicuous, cylindrical or conical). Gynoecium stylate. Styles 1 (elongate); apical. Placentation basal to axile. Ovules 30–100 per locule (‘many’).
Fruit fleshy, or non-fleshy; dehiscent; a capsule. Capsules 4–5 valvular. Fruit 50–100 seeded (‘many’). Seeds endospermic (the endosperm more or less fleshy).
Geography, cytology. Paleotropical. Tropical. Southeast Asia to Sumatra.
Taxonomy. Subclass Dicotyledonae; Tenuinucelli (?). Dahlgren’s Superorder Corniflorae (?); Dipsacales (?). Cronquist’s Subclass Asteridae; Dipsacales. APG (1998) Eudicot; core Eudicot; Asterid; Euasterid II; unassigned at ordinal level. Species 5. Genera 2; only genera, Carlemannia, Silvianthus.
Cite this publication as: ‘L. Watson and M. J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The Families of Flowering Plants: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, and Information Retrieval. Version: 14th December 2000. http://biodiversity.uno.edu/delta/’. Dallwitz (1980), Dallwitz, Paine and Zurcher (1993, 1995, 2000), and Watson and Dallwitz (1991) should also be cited (see References).