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Melastome family
Melastomataceae Juss.
ノボタン科
A large family with over 170 genera and 5,000 species, centered in tropical and subtropical regions. In Japan, Melastoma candidum is found along roadsides and wastelands in Kyushu and Okinawa. Easily identified by the characteristic pattern of veins running in arcs from the leaf base.
Key Characteristics
- ●Leaves opposite, with 3 to 7 main veins running in arcs from the base (acrodromous venation)
- ●Flowers 4- to 5-merous, petals brightly colored (purple, pink, or white)
- ●Stamens heteromorphic (dimorphic stamens of two different forms)
- ●Fruit a berry or capsule
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Opposite / Whorled
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Parallel / Palmate
Leaf margin
Serrate / Entire
Growth form
Shrub / Tree / Vine / Herb
Evergreen/Deciduous
Deciduous
Leaf dissection
Undivided
Stipules
Absent
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Petal count
Many
Ovary position
Superior / Inferior / Half-inferior
Stamen count
3-4 / 5
Plant sex
Dioecious / Hermaphrodite
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core eudicots > Myrtales > Melastomataceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous to Paleogene (ca. 80 million years ago)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Evolution of acrodromous venation as a distinctive leaf-vein pattern
- ・Pollination specialization through heteromorphic stamens
- ・Rapid speciation across the entire tropics
Plants in Melastome family on this site
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