Subfamily

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

Description

Trees, shrubs or lianas, rarely small herbs; leaves simple; inflorescence terminal, cymose, compound, lax to dense, flowers purplish or white; calyx tubular or campanulate, truncate or toothed, often obscurely 2-lipped; corolla infundibular, 4-lobed, 2-lipped (occasionally ą actinomorphic); stamens 4, inserted in middle to lower part of tube, slightly exserted, thecae parallel or divergent; ovary bicarpellate, syncarpous, 4-locular with one ovule in each locule; style terminal with two short stigmatic lobes; fruit drupaceous, with hard pyrene with four seeds. Numbers of species vary from 50 (Mabberley 1997) to 200 (Verdcourt 1992). Tropical and subtropical Asia, Africa, Australia and Pacific Islands.

Distribution

Native to:

20 Northern Africa
22 West Tropical Africa
23 West-Central Tropical Africa
24 Northeast Tropical Africa
25 East Tropical Africa
26 South Tropical Africa
27 Southern Africa
29 Western Indian Ocean
35 Arabian Peninsula
36 China
38 Eastern Asia
40 Indian Subcontinent
41 Indo-China
42 Malesia
43 Papuasia
50 Australia
60 Southwestern Pacific
61 South-Central Pacific
62 Northwestern Pacific
78 Southeastern U.S.A.

Synonyms

Scrophularioides G.Forst., Fl. Ins. Austr.: 91 (1786), nom. nud.

Scobia Noronha, Verh. Batav. Genootsch. Kunsten 5(4): 3 (1790).

Solia Noronha, Verh. Batav. Genootsch. Kunsten 5(4): 3 (1790).

Baldingera Dennst., Schlüssel Hortus Malab.: 31 (1818).

Holochiloma Hochst., Flora 24: 371 (1841).

Gumira Rumph. ex Hassk., Flora 25(2 Beibl.): 26 (1842).

Tatea F.Muell., Trans. & Proc. Roy. Soc. South Australia 6: 33 (1883).

Pygmaeopremna Merr., Philipp. J. Sci., C 5: 225 (1910).

Surfacea Moldenke, Phytologia 46: 59 (1980).

Publication

Premna L., Mant. ii, 154, 252 (1771); Munir, J. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 7(1), reg. rev.

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Image resource

Š Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew