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Cunonia family
Cunoniaceae
クノニア科
A family of about 27 genera and 350 species distributed in temperate to tropical regions of the Southern Hemisphere. Most diverse in South Africa, Australia, and South Pacific islands; some species are cultivated as ornamentals in Japan. Mostly evergreen trees with opposite compound leaves.
Key Characteristics
- ●Leaves are opposite, pinnately compound or simple
- ●Interpetiolar stipules are well-developed
- ●Flowers are small, tetramerous or pentamerous
- ●Fruit is a capsule or berry
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate / Opposite / Whorled
Leaf type
Compound / Simple
Venation
Pinnate
Leaf margin
Entire
Growth form
Shrub / Tree / Vine
Evergreen/Deciduous
Deciduous
Compound type
Ternate / Pinnate
Stipules
Present
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Petal count
3 petals / 6 petals
Petal fusion
Free / Fused
Ovary position
Superior / Half-inferior
Stamen count
3-4
Plant sex
Dioecious / Hermaphrodite / Monoecious
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core eudicots > Celastrales > Cunoniaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous to Paleogene (during Gondwana breakup)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Dispersal to various Southern Hemisphere regions associated with the breakup of Gondwana
Plants in Cunonia family on this site
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