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(Last Modified On 10/31/2012)
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(Last Modified On 10/31/2012)
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Family
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ERIOCAULACEAE
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Contributor
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HAROLD N. MOLDENKE
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Description
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Perennial or rarely annual aquatic or marsh herbs, mostly short-stemmed, usually monoecious, rarely dioecious; roots tufted, fibrous, knotty or spongy, often septate; leaves mostly basal and tufted, grass-like, usually crowded, often pellucid and loosely cellular, sometimes membranous; inflorescence capitate, in terminal solitary or umbellately aggregate involucrate heads, borne on long slender often scapose peduncles, which are sheathed at base; florets mostly actinomorphic, numerous, small, sessile or short-pedicellate on a variously shaped receptacle, usually each borne in the axil of a scarious scale-like colored or colorless receptacular bractlet, unisexual, mostly androgynous, the staminate and. pistillate mixed to- gether or the staminate in the center and the pistillate on the periphery, the sexes very rarely in separate heads; perianth (perigonium) scarious (chaffy) or mem- branous, rarely hyaline, its segments 2- or 3-merous, usually in 2 distinct series, the outer (calyx) free or rarely partially connate, the inner (corolla) often united in an infundibular fashion, rarely absent; stamens as many as the outer perianth- segments and alternate with them, or twice as many, inserted on the corolla (when present); filaments distinct; anthers small, 2- or 4-celled, composed of 1 or 2 thecae, opening by longitudinal slits, introrse; staminodes rarely present in pistillate florets; ovary superior, 2- or 3-locular; -style terminal, often appendaged; stigmas 2 or 3, simple or lobed; ovules solitary and pendulous in each locule, orthotropous; fruit a 2- or 3-celled, 2- or 3-seeded, membranous capsule, loculicidally dehiscent; seeds solitary, pendulous, with a small embryo borne at the apex of a copious mealy endosperm; cotyledon one.
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Key
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a. Stamens 4 or 6, twice as many as the outer perianth segments (rarely 3) ----1. ERIOCAULON aa. Stamens 2 or 3, as many as the outer perianth segments. b. Anthers 4-celled, composed of 2 thecae; stems not floating. c. Inner perianth segments of pistillate florets free - - 2. PAEPALANTHUS cc. Inner perianth segments of pistillate florets connate at the middle. 3. SYNGONANTHUS bb. Anthers 2-celled, composed of 1 theca; stems usually floating -- 4. TONINA
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