Pilea

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Pilea

Content

<<Leaves>Stipules>Shape

connate1
1. 002-002-001

<<Pistillate flowers>Stigma>Shape

capitate-penicillate2
2. 005-002-001

<<Pistillate flowers>Tepals>Shape

basally connate3
3. 005-001-002

<<Pistillate flowers>Tepals>Tepal number

34
4. 005-001-001

<<Staminate flowers>Stamens>Stamen number

(3 or) 45
5. 004-002-001

<<Staminate flowers>Tepals>Shape

connate6
6. 004-001-002

<<Staminate flowers>Tepals>Tepal number

(3 or) 47
7. 004-001-001

<Inflorescences>Flowers

flowers pedicellate or sessile.8
8. 003-001

<Leaves>Blade

blade with pinnate, sub-triplinerved or single-nerved venation.9
9. 002-003

<Leaves>Shape

those of a pair often unequal in size and shape10
10. 002-001

<Leaves>Stipules

stipules ;11
11. 002-002

<Pistillate flowers>Stigma

stigma , persistent or caducous.12
12. 005-002

<Pistillate flowers>Tepals

with , , unequal tepals, the middle one the largest13
13. 005-001

<Staminate flowers>Stamens

stamens .14
14. 004-002

<Staminate flowers>Tepals

with , tepals15
15. 004-001

Akenes

Achene subtended by the hardly enlarged tepals.16
16. 006

Description

Herbs, dioecious or monoecious. Leaves opposite, those of a pair often unequal in size and shape; stipules connate; blade with pinnate, sub-triplinerved or single-nerved venation. Inflorescences unisexual or bisexual, branched or unbranched; flowers pedicellate or sessile. Staminate flowers with (3 or) 4, connate tepals; stamens (3 or) 4. Pistillate flowers with 3, basally connate, unequal tepals, the middle one the largest; stigma capitate-penicillate, persistent or caducous. Achene subtended by the hardly enlarged tepals.

Distribution

Guianas present, Neotropics present, Pantropical present
Pantropical with more than 600 species; in the Neotropics more than 300 species; in the Guianas 4 species.

Habit

Herbs, dioecious or monoecious.17
17. 001

Inflorescences

Inflorescences unisexual or bisexual, branched or unbranched;18
18. 003

Leaves

Leaves opposite, ;19
19. 002

Notes

No material available from the Guianas. Based on Bonsen & ter Welle (1984): P. spec. (Equador).

Pistillate flowers

Pistillate flowers ;20
20. 005

Staminate flowers

Staminate flowers ;21
21. 004

Wood

Growth rings faint or absent. Vessels diffuse, solitary and in radial multiples and irregular clusters of 2-4, round to oval, 24-40 per sq. mm, diameter 40-85 μm. Vessel-member length: 205-250 μm. Perforations simple. Intervascular pits alternate, round or polygonal, 6-9 μm, sometimes scalariform. Vessel-ray and vessel-parenchyma pits as the intervascular pits. Thin-walled tyloses present or absent.
Rays only multiseriate, 1-2 per mm, entirely composed of upright cells, up to several mm high. All rays to be classified as medullary rays. Parenchyma paratracheal, as vasicentric rings.
Fibres non-septate, lumen 9-15 μm, walls 3-5 μm. Pits simple, on radial and tangential walls. Length: 370-435 μm.