Stemonaceae
| Stemonaceae Temporal range: Upper Cretaceous – recent 84–0 Ma |
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| Croomia heterosepala | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| Order: | Pandanales |
| Family: |
Stemonaceae Caruel |
| Genera | |
| Synonyms | |
The Stemonaceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants placed in the order Pandanales. The family consists of four genera with ca 37 known species distributed in areas with seasonal climate across Southeast Asia and tropical Australia. One native species is found in the United States. In earlier systems the family was called Roxburghiaceae, after Roxburghia, now Stemona.
The stems are sometimes erect or trailing with green or yellow-green color or in some cases with reddish appearance. Leaves are dark green and also alternate in the majority of the members. Flowers are born in short cymes produced from the lower parts of the plant. Seeds are ellipsoidal or globular.
As in other members of the Pandanales, the flower morphology in the Stemonaceae is distinctively developed and rather atypical for other monocots. In the majority of the species, flowers are tetramerous (composed of four identical parts) or sometimes dimerous. Stamens are distinguishable and four in number. In most of the members, tepals are four. They are smooth or sometimes papilate which is probably because they function as odour-producing components (osmophores). However, in Pentastemona, the flowers are pentamerous and the number of stamens is five. Microsporogenesis is successive. Reproductive structures are colored in shades of purple, maroon, green, or yellow. They imitate carrion and sometimes release such smell - flies visiting the flowers function as pollinators.
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Wikipedia