Trees, shrubs or herbs, sometimes scandent, sometimes dioecious
Leaves
alternate, very rarely opposite, usually petioled, sometimes sheathed, simple, digitately lobed or once or twice digitately compound; stipules adnate to petioles
Flowers
regular, bisexual or unisexual, in heads, umbels, spikes, or racemes, with the racemes panicled or umbellate, rarely flowers solitary; bracts and bracteoles usually present
Calyx
attached to ovary, annular or shortly cupular
Petals
usually 5, valvate or slightly imbricate
Stamens
as many as petals, rarely more; anthers ovate or oblong, 2-thecous
Disc
epigynous, variable
Ovary
inferior, 2-locular, with a solitary, pendulous ovule in each locule; styles as many as locules, distinct or connate at base
Fruit
a berry or drupe, or of 2 readily separable mericarps, sometimes flattened and membranous, oil tubes indistinct or absent
Seeds
sometimes solitary by abortion
Classification Notes:
Based on evidence from DNA sequence data (Plunkett, Soltis & Soltis 1997) some genera of the
Hydrocotyloideae
under
Apiaceae
(
Centella
and
Hydrocotyle
) have been transferred to the
Araliaceae
Nomenclature:
Sonder: 568 (1862)
Strey: 191 (1973)
Burtt & Dickinson: 449 (1975)
Strey: 515 (1975)
Strey: 66 (1981)
Cannon: 621 (1978)
Reyneke: 241 (1981)
Reyneke: 369 (1984)
Reyneke & Kok: 317 (1987)
Plunkett, Soltis & Soltis: 565 (1997)
Distribution & Notes:
Global
: Genera 59, species ± 800, fairly cosmopolitan, especially well represented in the Malaysian region
Southern Africa
: Genera 5, species ± 18, some naturalised
References:
BURTT, B.L. & DICKINSON, W.C. 1975. The morphology and relationships of
Seemannaralia
(
Araliaceae
).
Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
33
PLUNKETT, G.M., SOLTIS, D.E. & SOLTIS, P.S. 1997. Clarification of the relationship between
Apiaceae
and
Araliaceae
based on MATK and RBCL sequence data.
American Journal of Botany
84
REYNEKE, W.F. 1981.
'n Morfologies-taksonomiese studie van die familie Araliaceae in suidelike Afrika
. D.Sc. study, University of Pretoria, Pretoria
REYNEKE, W.F. 1984. A new species of
Cussonia
(
Araliaceae
) from the Transvaal.
South African Journal of Botany
36
REYNEKE, W.F. & KOK, P.D.F. 1987. Two varieties of
Cussonia paniculata
Eckl. & Zeyh.
South African Journal of Botany
53
SONDER, O.W. 1862.
Araliaceae
.
Flora capensis
2
STREY, R.G. 1973. Notes on the genus
Cussonia
in South Africa.
Bothalia
11
STREY, R.G. 1975.
Araliaceae
. A new species of
Cussonia
from the southern Cape.
Bothalia
11
STREY, R.G. 1981. Observations on the morphology of the
Araliaceae
in Southern Africa.
Journal of Dendrology
1(3 & 4)
Copyright of the content hosted by this website remains with the
South African National Biodiversity Institute
(SANBI), unless stated otherwise.
Material from this site may be used in other media, provided that SANBI is acknowledged by the name
South African National Biodiversity Institute
(SANBI) or refer to the '
How to cite this resource
' paragraph on the Home page.
Liability disclaimer: Visitors use this site at their own risk and SANBI is not liable for any of the consequences resulting therefrom.
Welcome to Biodiversity Advisor 2.0!
Biodiversity Advisor, developed by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and its Data Partners, is a system that will provide integrated biodiversity information to a wide range of users who will have access to geospatial data, plant and animal species distribution data, ecosystem-level data, literature, images and metadata.
The integrated information comes from our much-loved Botanical Database of Southern Africa (BODATSA) also known as Plants of Southern Africa (POSA), Zoological Database of Southern Africa (ZODATSA), Biodiversity Geographic Information System (BGIS), SANBI's institutional repository (Opus) and others.
The system is still under development, so you may find a few bugs/issues. If you do, please report it via the error reporting button available in various sections of the website or provide us with any useful feedback you may have via the ‘Give us feedback’ option available in the sidebar menu. You can create a free account for yourself by clicking on the user profile icon which will take you through to the login page. Here you can choose the ‘Create an account’ option or simply fill in your details if you have an account already. Having an account on Biodiversity Advisor will provide users with free access to biodiversity resources.
In future, Team SANBI will be able to log in using their day-to-day login details, BGIS users will be able to use their existing accounts and details, and general users will be able to log in using their LinkedIn profile, but for now you will need to create an account.
