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(Last Modified On 2/7/2013)
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(Last Modified On 2/7/2013)
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Family
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MONIMIACEAE
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Contributor
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J. A. DUKE
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Description
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Aromatic, often lemon-scented shrubs or small trees. Leaves mostly opposite, rarely ternate or subalternate, exstipulate, penninerved, entire or irregularly dentate, membranaceous to coriaceous, glabrous to densely pubescent with simple or stellate hairs. Flowers unisexual (in America), perigynous, mostly dioecious, actinomorphic or asymmetrical, in axillary dichotomous or trichotomous cymes or rarely solitary, the pedicellate hypanthia urceolate to campanulate. Staminate flowers with few to several tepals, these usually uniseriate, often reduced to a subentire annulus en- circling the hypanthium; stamens 2-many, the outer often broader and occasionally sterile, the anthers oblong and valvate, or hippocrepiform and longitudinally de- hiscent (in North America), the filaments occasionally with a pair of lateral appendages; pistillodes usually absent. Carpellate flowers usually fewer and larger than the staminate; tepals 4-several, occasionally caducous and leaving a repand discoid hypanthium exposing the several separate carpels, more frequently persistent at the summit of the fleshy hypanthium tube (valve) in which the carpels are permanently imbedded. Fruiting carpels several, 1-seeded, free or imbedded in the hypanthium, the seeds mostly erect in the drupaceous or coriaceous carpels.
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Habit
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shrubs trees
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Distribution
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Confined largely to the tropics of both hemispheres, this family of some 30 genera is represented in North America by only 2.
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Note
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In the Americas the family is of only casual economic importance, with the Brazilian Mollinedia schottiana (Spreng.) Perk. and the Chilean Peumus boldus Mol. finding a limited demand in the timber trade. Some aromatic species are used in making teas supposed to have medicinal virtues. Considerable phylogenetic significance has been attributed to the combination of magnoliaceous and lauraceous characters in the family, which, according to the anatomical findings of Garratt (in Trop. Woods 39: 18. 1934), is more nearly lauraceous. Specific determinations in the American representatives are very difficult and a revision of existing specific concepts will ultimately be necessary. If one adopts the narrow concept followed by Perkins (in Engl. Pflanzenreich 4. Fam. 101. 1901), he will discover still many undescribed species in the Americas. Too often Perkins' key characters are based on indumental and numerical variations. More reliable characters should be incorporated into a much-needed reorganization of this puzzling family.
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Key
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a. Anthers oblong, valvately dehiscent; tepals of the pistillate flowers 4-several, usually persistent, the fruits enclosed in the hypanthium; leaves glabrous or with simple or stellate hairs ..................... 1. SIPARUNA. aa. Anthers hippocrepiform, longitudinally dehiscent; tepals of the pistillate flowers 4, soon deciduous, the fruits not enclosed in the hypanthium; leaves glabrous or with sim ple hairs ............... ...................................... 2. M OLLINEDIA.
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