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Pittosporum family
Pittosporaceae
トベラ科
A family centered on the genus Pittosporum. About 9 genera and over 200 species are known, distributed in the Old World tropics to temperate regions. In Japan, Pittosporum tobira grows as a coastal evergreen shrub resistant to salt spray. Fruits split open to expose seeds covered in sticky resin.
Key Characteristics
- ●Evergreen woody plants (shrubs to trees)
- ●Leaves coriaceous, glossy, and alternate
- ●5 petals, tubular to recurved
- ●Fruit a capsule that secretes sticky resin covering the seeds
- ●Often grows in coastal and dry environments
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate / Whorled
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Pinnate
Leaf margin
Serrate / Entire
Growth form
Shrub / Tree / Vine
Evergreen/Deciduous
Evergreen
Leaf dissection
Undivided
Stipules
Absent
Latex
Present / Absent
Aromatic
Aromatic / None
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Petal count
Many
Ovary position
Superior
Stamen count
5
Plant sex
Hermaphrodite / Monoecious
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core eudicots > Apiales > Pittosporaceae
Divergence Era
Paleogene to Neogene
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Evolution of seed dispersal via sticky resin (attachment to birds)
- ・Adaptation to coastal environments
Plants in Pittosporum family on this site
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