Rhizophoraceae

Abstract

Shrubs or trees, sometimes with aerial roots. Leaves opposite or verticillate, decussate or bijugate, simple, toothed, crenate, or entire, marginal teeth of a distinctive Macarisioid type; stipules interpetiolar, valvate and pubescent or imbricate and glabrous, always bearing colleters. Inflorescences axillary, cymose, dichasial, or fasciculate. Flowers regular, bisexual or rarely unisexual, with articulated pedicels; the sepals valvate, basally usually congenitally connate and above with (3)4–5(−16) lobes postgenitally connected by interdigitation of their papillose margins; petals equalling the number of sepals, contorted or infolded in bud, usually with both a terminal arista and filiform appendages on the two lobes, rarely entire, usually each petal enwrapping 1–5 stamens; androecium diplostemonous or obdiplostemonous or polyandrous, the filaments sometimes connate at base, borne around the base of or on an intrastaminal entire or lobed nectary disk; anthers tetrasporangiate or (Rhizophora) multisporangiate, dehiscent by a longitudinal valve; gynoecium syncarpous, ovary superior to inferior, (2)3–5(−20)-carpellate, the locules often incompletely or not at all separated by septae at anthesis; ovules 2–6 per carpel, epitropous, anatropous or less often hemianatropous or campylotropous, bitegmic and crassinucellate or rarely tenuinucellate, usually apically inserted; style simple, stigma capitate or with pronounced lobes, generally papillate. Fruit capsular, baccate, or hard-walled and indehiscent. Seeds 1–many, nonappendaged, arillate, or winged; seed coat exotestal or exotestal-exotegmic or undifferentiated; endosperm well-developed, oily; embryo green, usually straight, with laminar cotyledons and epigeal germination, or with thick cotyledons or thick cotyledonary body and viviparous germination. n = (13), 14, 16, 18, 21.