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Souari family
Caryocaraceae Voigt
ใใฟใผใใใ็ง
A family of tall trees distributed in South American tropical rainforests. Comprises a single genus (Caryocar) with approximately 15 species. Seeds are used for edible oil (souari nuts) and serve as an important food source for Amazonian indigenous peoples.
Key Characteristics
- โLarge, opposite, trifoliate compound leaves
- โFlowers large, yellow to white, with numerous conspicuous stamens
- โFruit a large drupe with seeds enclosed in a hard endocarp
- โEvergreen large trees
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values โ multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate / Opposite
Leaf type
Compound
Venation
Palmate
Leaf margin
Serrate / Dentate / Entire
Growth form
Shrub / Tree
Evergreen/Deciduous
Evergreen
Compound type
Ternate / Bipinnate
Stipules
Present / Absent
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Petal count
Many
Ovary position
Superior
Stamen count
5
Plant sex
Hermaphrodite
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core eudicots > Malpighiales > Caryocaraceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous (ca. 80 million years ago)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ใปDivergence as a large-tree lineage of South American tropical rainforests
- ใปCo-evolution of large seeds and mammal-mediated seed dispersal
Plants in Souari family on this site
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