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Brazil nut family
Lecythidaceae A.Rich.
サガリバナ科
A family of large tropical trees centered in the Americas, comprising about 350 species. It includes the Brazil nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa) and paradise nut. Not native to Japan. Flowers are large and showy, with complex structures specialized for bee pollination.
Key Characteristics
- ●Large evergreen tropical trees
- ●Flowers are large and bisexual with 4–6 sepals and petals
- ●Stamens are numerous, asymmetrically arranged with a hood-like structure (ligule)
- ●Fruit is a large woody capsule (pyxidium) or berry
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
Tree
Evergreen/Deciduous
Deciduous
Leaf dissection
Undivided
Stipules
Absent
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic / Zygomorphic
Petal count
Many
Ovary position
Inferior / Half-inferior
Stamen count
3-4 / 5 / 6
Plant sex
Hermaphrodite
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core Eudicots > Ericales > Lecythidaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous to Paleogene (ca. 80 million years ago)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Specialization for bee pollination through hood-like staminal structures
- ・Adaptation to mammal-mediated dispersal through large woody fruits
Plants in Brazil nut family on this site
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