Inflorescences slender spikes, bracteate, in clusters of (2)3
Flowers bisexual, regular, small
Tepals 4 or 5, sometimes unequal
Stamens 4, included or slightly exserted; filaments free; anthers 2-thecous, elongate
Ovary subglobose; ovule solitary on short, basal funicle; styles 4, very short, usually connate below; stigmas 4
Fruit an achene, subglobose, enclosed in persistent perianth, muricate, warty, or ridged
Seed with membranous testa; endosperm present; embryo curved
Classification Notes:
Different authorities have placed this genus either in the family Chenopodiaceae (Cronquist 1981) or Phytolaccaceae (Nowicke 1968, 1969; Rohwer 1993)
Nomenclature:
Lophiocarpus Turcz.
Turczaninow: 56 (1843)
Heimerl: 163 (1934)
Nowicke: 353 (1968)
Eckardt: 13 (1974)
Nowicke: 288 (1969)
Schreiber: 1 (1969)
Stannard: 169 (1988)
Rohwer: 513 (1993)
Microtea Sw.
Swartz: 53 (1788) in part
Hill: 455 (1912) in part
Wallinia Moq.
Moquin-Tandon: 143 (1849)
Distribution & Notes:
Global: Species 4, confined to Africa, all in southern Africa
Southern Africa: Mainly arid regions, Namibia, Botswana, Northern Province, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Free State, N KwaZulu-Natal and Northern Cape.
References:
ECKARDT, T. 1974. Vom Blütenbau der Centrospermen-Gattung Lophiocarpus Turcz. Phyton (Austria) 16
HEIMERL, A. 1934. Phytolaccaceae. Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien, edn 2,16c
HILL, A.W. 1912. Phytolaccaceae. Flora capensis 5,1
MOQUIN-TANDON, C.H.B.A. 1849. Salsolaceae. In A.P. de Candolle, Prodromus 13,2. Treuttel & Würtz, Paris
NOWICKE, J.W. 1968. Palynotaxonomic study of the Phytolaccaceae. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 55, 3
NOWICKE, J.W. 1969. Supplementary notes on the Phytolaccaceae 1. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 56
ROHWER, J.G. 1993. Phytolaccaceae. In K. Kubitzki, J.G. Rohwer & V. Bittrich, The families and genera of vascular plants - dicotyledons 2. Springer-Verlag, Berlin
SCHREIBER, A. 1969. Phytolaccaceae. Prodromus einer Flora von Südwestafrika 24
SWARTZ, O. 1788. Microtea. Nova genera & species plantarum seu Prodromus. M. Sweder, Stockholm
TURCZANINOW, N.S. VON. 1843. Decas generum plantarum hucusque non descriptorum. Bulletin de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou 16
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