Balsaminaceae, Geraniaceae and Oxalidaceae Week: March 4-10, 2013—-Introduction : 5 posts by 4 authors.
Oxalidaceae
Family with 8 genera and more than 800 genera mainly in tropical and subtropical regions of the world.
Annual or perennial herbs, rarely shrubs or trees, sometimes stemless with all basal leaves; leaves alternate or whorled; palmately or palmately compound, leaflets entire, often folded together at night ; flowers in racemes, umbellate clusters or solitary, bisexual, actinomorphic; sepals free or connate at base; petals 5, usually free; stamens 10, in two whorls, outer whorl opposite the petals, with shorter filamens, filaments connate at base; carpels fused, 5, 5-chambered with 2-many ovules in each chamber; styles free; fruit a capsule or berry; seeds with aril.
Genera expected in India
Oxalis
Biophytum
Averrhoa
While uploading the photographs for identification members are requested to focus on the following characters
1. Plants stemless, bulbous or aerial and branched
2, shape and size of leaflets, presence or absence of hairs especially along leaf margins, nature of tip of leaflets
3. Number of leaflets in Averrhoa and Biophytum
4. Colour of petals, especially throat if different in colour
5. size of flowers
6. Inflorescence (solitary flowers or umbellate clusters)
7. Shape and size of fruit.
The famous age old Cook’s flora mentions a combined family Geraniaceae with 6 genera mentioned under it namely
Oxalis Biophytum Averrhoa BSI Mah. Flora mentions the plants in Mah. as follows
Family Averrhoaceae Only cultivated sp. Averrhoa bilimbii and Averrhoa carambola Family : Oxalidaceae Oxalis: acetocella; corniculata; deppei; dehradunensis; debilis var. corymbosa. Cutivated: O.rosea; variabilis var. rubra |