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Elaeocarpus family
Elaeocarpaceae
ホルトノキ科
A family including evergreen trees such as Elaeocarpus sylvestris. About 12 genera and 600 species are known, widely distributed in tropical to temperate regions of the Old World. Identified by petal tips that are fringed (laciniate).
Key Characteristics
- ●Petal tips are finely divided (fringed/laciniate)
- ●Leaves are alternate; some leaves turn red and drop in autumn (even in evergreen species)
- ●Fruit is a drupe or capsule
- ●Mostly evergreen tall trees
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Pinnate
Leaf margin
Entire
Growth form
Shrub / Tree
Evergreen/Deciduous
Deciduous
Leaf dissection
Undivided
Stipules
Present
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Petal count
4 petals / 5 petals / Many
Petal fusion
Fused
Ovary position
Superior
Stamen count
3-4 / 5
Plant sex
Dioecious / Hermaphrodite
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core eudicots > Celastrales > Elaeocarpaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous to Paleogene
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Evolution of fringed (laciniate) petals as a specialized floral morphology
Plants in Elaeocarpus family on this site
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