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Bittersweet family
Celastraceae
ニシキギ科
A family including familiar Japanese woody plants such as winged spindle tree (Euonymus alatus), Japanese spindle (E. japonicus), and oriental bittersweet. About 90 genera and 1,400 species are known, widely distributed from tropical to temperate regions. Characterized by a well-developed floral disc and fruits with orange-red arils.
Key Characteristics
- ●Floral disc (thickened receptacle tissue) is well-developed
- ●Fruits are mostly capsules; seeds are enclosed in orange-red fleshy arils
- ●Leaves are simple, opposite or alternate
- ●Small tetramerous or pentamerous flowers
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate / Opposite
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Pinnate
Leaf margin
Entire
Growth form
Shrub / Tree / Vine
Evergreen/Deciduous
Deciduous
Leaf dissection
Undivided
Stipules
Present / Absent
Latex
Present / Absent
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Petal count
4 petals
Petal fusion
Fused
Ovary position
Superior / Half-inferior
Stamen count
1-2
Plant sex
Dioecious / Hermaphrodite / Monoecious
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core eudicots > Celastrales > Celastraceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous to Paleogene (about 80–70 million years ago)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Evolution of bird-mediated seed dispersal through orange-red arils
- ・Diversification of nectaries through floral disc development
Plants in Bittersweet family on this site
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