Myrothamnus
| Myrothamnus | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the family | ||||||||||||
| Myrothamnaceae | ||||||||||||
| Nied. in Engler & Prantl | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Myrothamnus | ||||||||||||
| Welw. |
Myrothamnus is the only genus of the family of Myrothamnaceae in the small order of gunnerales . It only includes two types. One species is only found in Africa and the other is endemic to Madagascar .
description
They are small, xerophytic shrubs . They contain resins . They belong to the poikilohydren plants (alternating moist plants, so-called "resurrection plants"). They look dry in the dry, as soon as it becomes damp, they turn green. The opposite leaves are small, simple and fragrant. The leaf margins are somewhat serrated. Stipules are present.
The genus is dioecious separately sexed ( diocesan ). There are spiked or kitten-like inflorescences formed with bracts . The unisexual flowers are radially symmetrical to slightly zygomorphic and - as is often the case with wind-pollinated plants - strongly reduced. Bracts are missing. There are four or three to eight free, fertile stamens per male flower . In the female flowers, three to four upper carpels are only fused at their base. There are as many free, short curved styles as carpels. Pollination takes place by the wind ( anemophilia ). There are as many follicles as carpels together. The small seeds are oily.
Systematics
This family was previously incorporated into the Hamamelidales.
In the family of the Myrothamnaceae there is only one genus Myrothamnus Welw. with only two types:
- Myrothamnus flabellifolius Welw. : The home is tropical Africa.
- Myrothamnus moschatus (Baill.) Baill. : She is endemic to Madagascar.
literature
- Klaus Kubitzki: Myrothamnaceae. In: Klaus Kubitzki (Ed.): The families and genera of vascular plants. Volume 2: Flowering plants, Dicotyledons. Magnoliid, hamamelid and caryophyllid families. Springer, Berlin et al. 1993, ISBN 3-540-55509-9 .
