Subfamily

II. Subfam. Viticoideae Briq. in Engler & Prantl (1895).

Description

Trees, or shrubs, sometimes climbing or scrambling; stems sometimes armed with spines; leaves simple; inflorescence terminal, cymose, compound, branched, or seldom reduced to single flower, blue or purple-violet, white, yellow, brownish, mauve or purple pink; calyx tubular or campanulate, truncate or 4-5-lobed, often with large glands on surface; corolla infundibular, (4-)5 lobed, ą 2-lipped, tube widely funnel-shaped, greatly enlarged at throat; stamens 4, inserted at bottom of tube, didynamous, only slightly exserted, thecae parallel or divergent; ovary bicarpellate, syncarpous, 4-loculate, with one ovule in each locule; style terminal with two unequal stigmatic lobes, posterior branch much shorter; fruit a fleshy, succulent drupe with hard pyrene, 4-seeded (rarely 2-seeded). 2n = 36, 38, 40. About 33 species, Asia, Australia, New Guinea and New Caledonia.

Distribution

Native to:

36 China
40 Indian Subcontinent
41 Indo-China
42 Malesia
43 Papuasia
50 Australia
60 Southwestern Pacific
62 Northwestern Pacific

Introduced to:

22 West Tropical Africa
25 East Tropical Africa
26 South Tropical Africa
29 Western Indian Ocean
38 Eastern Asia
79 Mexico
81 Caribbean
83 Western South America
84 Brazil

Synonyms

Cumbulu Adans., Fam. Pl. 2: 199 (1763).

Gmelinia Spreng., Gen. Pl. 2: 481 (1831), orth. var.

Publication

Gmelina L. Sp. Pl. 2: 626 (1753); Munir, J. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 7(1): 91-116 (1984), reg. rev.

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Species found in RBG Kew living collections

1974-2999 Gmelina hystrix Schult.ex Kurz F PH 4
1974-7237 Gmelina hystrix Schult.ex Kurz F TC 1 06

Image resource

Š Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew