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Sweetleaf family
Symplocaceae Desf.
ハイノキ科
A family of woody plants distributed in tropical to temperate regions of Asia and the Americas, comprising about 320 species in a single genus (Symplocos). In Japan, Symplocos myrtacea, S. sawafutagi, S. lucida, and S. tanakana are native. The family is known for hyperaccumulating aluminum in leaves.
Key Characteristics
- ●Leaves are simple, alternate, often serrate
- ●Flowers are small, white to yellow, pentamerous with numerous stamens
- ●Stamens are numerous and conspicuous
- ●Fruit is a drupe or berry
- ●Leaves hyperaccumulate aluminum (used historically as mordant plants)
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
Evergreen / Deciduous
Leaf dissection
Undivided
Stipules
Absent
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Petal count
6 petals / Many
Ovary position
Inferior / Half-inferior
Stamen count
3-4
Plant sex
Hermaphrodite / Monoecious
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core Eudicots > Ericales > Symplocaceae
Divergence Era
Paleogene (ca. 50 million years ago)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Unique evolution of aluminum hyperaccumulation mechanism
- ・Distribution in both Asia and the Americas (Gondwanan distribution or long-distance dispersal)
Plants in Sweetleaf family on this site
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