Illiciaceae.html |
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| Illiciaceae | ||||||
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 from Koehler (1887)
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Illiciaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants. The family has been recognized by most taxonomists, at least for the past several decades.
The APG II system treats Illiciaceae as a family that may either be treated as part of another family, the Schisandraceae or allows for the optional segregation of the Illiciaceae from the Schisandraceae. The Illiciaceae as an optional segregate family then has the traditional circumscription of other taxonomic systems, consisting of a single genus, Illicium.
The family consists of shrubs or small trees usually with volatile aromatic compounds. The leaves are evergreen, simple, not compound, and alternate on branches and stems. The flowers are hermaphrodite, and usually showy, ranging in size from small to large, and composed of numerous distinct parts that change grade slightly as they spiral around the receptacle. The parts begin with a perianth of whorled tepals, with the outer whorls more sepaloid, graduating to more petaloid inner tepals. The stamens are also numerous and in a whorl. The carpels are arranged in a whorl, are separate, and number from 5 to numerous carpels in each whorl, each carpel containing a single ovule.1
The single genus, Illicium, has about 40 species native to sub-tropical and tropical Southeast Asia and the southeastern United States, the Caribbean, and parts of Mexico.1
For further details of placement in various systems see the entry for family Schisandraceae.
References
External links :
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- Illiciaceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards) The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval. Version: 3rd May 2006. http://delta-intkey.com.
- Illiciaceae in the Flora of North America