Mendonciaceae

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Mendonciaceae

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<<<<Flowers>Corolla>Limbs>Lower lip>Lobe number

3-lobed1
1. 005-002-004-004-001

<<<<Flowers>Corolla>Limbs>Upper lip>Lobe number

2-lobed2
2. 005-002-004-003-001

<<<Flowers>Corolla>Limbs>Lip number

2-lipped3
3. 005-002-004-002

<<<Flowers>Corolla>Limbs>Lobe number

5-lobed4
4. 005-002-004-001

<<<Flowers>Corolla>Limbs>Lower lip

lower lip5
5. 005-002-004-004

<<<Flowers>Corolla>Limbs>Upper lip

upper lip6
6. 005-002-004-003

<<<Flowers>Corolla>Lobes>Growth form

spreading or reflexed7
7. 005-002-005-001

<<<Flowers>Corolla>Tube>Shape

cylindric to funnelform8
8. 005-002-003-001

<<<Flowers>Ovary>Ovules>Ovule number per locule

2 in each locule, or 2 in one fertile locule9
9. 005-007-002-001

<<<Flowers>Ovary>Stigma>Lobe number

2-lobed10
10. 005-007-004-001

<<<Flowers>Ovary>Style>Shape

filiform11
11. 005-007-003-001

<<<Flowers>Stamens>Anthers>Hairs

± pubescent at base12
12. 005-003-002-003

<<<Flowers>Stamens>Anthers>Theca number

2-thecous13
13. 005-003-002-001

<<<Flowers>Stamens>Anthers>Thecae

with parallel, subequal to unequal thecae14
14. 005-003-002-002

<<Flowers>Calyx>Shape

truncate to irregularly dentate or lobed15
15. 005-001-001

<<Flowers>Corolla>Colour

whitish, greenish, or reddish, often with purplish markings within16
16. 005-002-002

<<Flowers>Corolla>Limbs

limb subequally or with and ,17
17. 005-002-004

<<Flowers>Corolla>Lobes

lobes ;18
18. 005-002-005

<<Flowers>Corolla>Shape

± hypocrateriform, not inflated above, contorted19
19. 005-002-001

<<Flowers>Corolla>Tube

tube ,20
20. 005-002-003

<<Flowers>Ovary>Locule number

2-locular, or one locule more or less reduced or even suppressed21
21. 005-007-001

<<Flowers>Ovary>Ovules

ovules , collateral, funiculus of ordinary type, neither thickened nor otherwise much modified,22
22. 005-007-002

<<Flowers>Ovary>Stigma

stigma shallowly and unequally .23
23. 005-007-004

<<Flowers>Ovary>Style

style ,24
24. 005-007-003

<<Flowers>Pollen>Colpus number

5-6-colporate25
25. 005-004-002

<<Flowers>Pollen>Shape

spherical26
26. 005-004-001

<<Flowers>Stamens>Anthers

anthers , , dehiscing longitudinally or by subapical pores or slits;27
27. 005-003-002

<<Flowers>Stamens>Stamen number

428
28. 005-003-001

<<Flowers>Staminodes>Staminode number

if present, 129
29. 005-005-001

<<Fruits>Mesocarps>Texture

fleshy30
30. 006-002-001

<<Fruits>Seeds>Cotyledons

cotyledons twice folded,31
31. 006-004-003

<<Fruits>Seeds>Embryo

embryo dicotyledonous,32
32. 006-004-002

<<Fruits>Seeds>Endosperm

endosperm wanting.33
33. 006-004-004

<<Fruits>Seeds>Seed number

1-234
34. 006-004-001

<<Inflorescences>Bracteoles>Bracteole number

235
35. 004-001-001

<<Inflorescences>Bracteoles>Colour

green, variously shaped and vestured36
36. 004-002-001

<<Inflorescences>Bracteoles>Growth form

often widely spreading during fruiting37
37. 004-002-002

<<Inflorescences>Bracteoles>Shape

flat or keeled38
38. 004-001-002

<Flowers>Calyx

calyx inconspicuous, annular or cupular, ;39
39. 005-001

<Flowers>Corolla

corolla sympetalous, , ,40
40. 005-002

<Flowers>Nectary disc

nectar-disk prominent, cupular, around base of ovary;41
41. 005-006

<Flowers>Ovary

ovary superior, ,42
42. 005-007

<Flowers>Pollen

pollen , ;43
43. 005-004

<Flowers>Stamens

stamens , didynamous, included, attached to corolla tube alternate with lobes,44
44. 005-003

<Flowers>Staminodes

staminode, , inconspicuous;45
45. 005-005

<Fruits>Endocarp

endocarp osseous;46
46. 006-003

<Fruits>Mesocarps

mesocarp ,47
47. 006-002

<Fruits>Seeds

seeds ,48
48. 006-004

<Fruits>Shape

ovoid to ellipsoid49
49. 006-001

<Inflorescences>Bracteoles

subtended by large, , spathelike bracteoles (= bracts previously used by this and other authors)50 bracteoles , often equaling corolla tube, valvate, often partially connivent or connate, remaining closed around flower, .51
50. 004-001, 51. 004-002

<Stems>Cystoliths

cystoliths lacking.52
52. 002-002

<Stems>Hairs

glabrous or pubescent with simple or stellate, glandular and eglandular trichomes53
53. 002-001

Description

Herbaceous or suffrutescent, counterclockwise twining vines. Stems articulated when young, glabrous or pubescent with simple or stellate, glandular and eglandular trichomes; cystoliths lacking. Leaves opposite, simple, entire, exstipulate, petiolate. Inflorescences of solitary or clustered flowers in leaf axils, each pedicellate and subtended by 2 large, flat or keeled, spathelike bracteoles (= bracts previously used by this and other authors); bracteoles green, variously shaped and vestured, often equaling corolla tube, valvate, often partially connivent or connate, remaining closed around flower, often widely spreading during fruiting. Flowers zygomorphic, bisexual; calyx inconspicuous, annular or cupular, truncate to irregularly dentate or lobed; corolla sympetalous, ± hypocrateriform, not inflated above, contorted, whitish, greenish, or reddish, often with purplish markings within, tube cylindric to funnelform, limb subequally 5-lobed or 2-lipped with upper lip 2-lobed and lower lip 3-lobed, lobes spreading or reflexed; stamens 4, didynamous, included, attached to corolla tube alternate with lobes, anthers 2-thecouswith parallel, subequal to unequal thecae, ± pubescent at base, dehiscing longitudinally or by subapical pores or slits; pollen spherical, 5-6-colporate; staminode, if present, 1, inconspicuous; nectar-disk prominent, cupular, around base of ovary; ovary superior, 2-locular, or one locule more or less reduced or even suppressed, ovules 2 in each locule, or 2 in one fertile locule, collateral, funiculus of ordinary type, neither thickened nor otherwise much modified, style filiform, stigma shallowly and unequally 2-lobed. Fruits drupaceous, ovoid to ellipsoid, mesocarp fleshy, endocarp osseous; seeds 1-2, embryo dicotyledonous, cotyledons twice folded, endosperm wanting.

Distribution

Africa, Guianas present, Madagascar present, Pantropical present, southern Brazil present, southern Mexico present, tropical western Africa present
Pantropical family of 2 genera, Mendoncia with about 50-60 species and Anomacanthus R. Good, a monotypic genus in west-central tropical Africa. The species of Mendoncia are sparingly distributed in tropical western Africa and Madagascar and from southern Mexico to southern Brazil; 6 species occur in the Guianas.

Flowers

Flowers zygomorphic, bisexual;54
54. 005

Fruits

Fruits drupaceous, ,55
55. 006

Habit

Herbaceous or suffrutescent, counterclockwise twining vines.56
56. 001

Individuals Association

Suriname, Heyde, N.M. 493 Guyana, Cruz, J.S. de la 4110 Guyana, Sandwith, N. Y. 199 Guyana, Schomburgk, Ri. 1431 Suriname, Jonker-Verhoef, A.M.E. & F.P. Jonker 110 Sagot, P. 1045 Guyana, McDowell, T., et al. 4563 Guyana, Tutin, T.G. 71 Wachenheim, H. 351 Guyana, Jansen-Jacobs, M.J., et al. 3186 Sagot, P. 21 Suriname, Wullschlaegel, H.R. 413 Feuillet, C. 361 Granville, J.J. de, et al. 10499 Suriname, Splitgerber, F.L. 229 Oldeman, R.A.A. B-2144 Feuillet, C. 127 anno 1847, Leprieur, F.R.M. s.n. Guyana, Boom, B.M. & G.L. Samuels 8817 Suriname, BW 5621 Guyana, Weitzman, A. & W. Hahn 314 Suriname, Lindeman, J.C., E.A. Mennega et al. 44 Guyana, McDowell, T., et al. 2238 Guyana, Smith, A.C. 3322 Guyana, Henkel, T.W. et al. 4413 Oldeman, R.A.A. T-578 Suriname, LBB 13245 Suriname, Essed, E. 82a Guyana, Appun, C.F. 275 Sastre, C. 4612 Marshall, N. & J. Rombold 186 Suriname, Lindeman, J.C., A.R.A. Görts-van Rijn et al. 254 Perrottet, G.S. 208 Guyana, McDowell, T., et al. 4342 Guyana, McDowell, T., et al. 5909 Suriname, Splitgerber, F.L. s.n. Suriname, Heyde, N.M. 402 Suriname, Lanjouw, J. & J.C. Lindeman 2405 Suriname, Schulz, J.P. 9592 Granville, J.J. de, et al. 9064 Deroin, T. 152 Guyana, Gleason, H.A. 939 Guyana, Schomburgk, Ri. 786 Feuillet, C. 664 Suriname, BW 2997 Granville, J.J. de, et al. 2670 Suriname, Focke, H.C. 581 Sastre, C. 4610 Prévost, M.F., et al. 721 Melinon, E. 131 Suriname, Lindeman, J.C., A.L. Stoffers et al. 615 Suriname, Schulz, J.P. 8251 Guyana, McDowell, T., et al. 4297 Suriname, Wessels Boer, J.G. 922 Guyana, McDowell, T., et al. 6881 Suriname, Wullschlaegel, H.R. 414 Oldeman, R.A.A. B-2254 Suriname, Kegel, H. 55 Guyana, Forest Dept. British Guiana 7199 Granville, J.J. de, et al. 8771 Guyana, Jenman, G.S. 6541 Cremers, G., et al. 6950 Feuillet, C. 10357 Granville, J.J. de, et al. 10812 Guyana, Archer, W.A 2425 Mori, S.A. & C. Gracie 21112 Guyana, Cruz, J.S. de la 4571 Suriname, Lanjouw, J. 229 Guyana, Forest Dept. British Guiana 7195 Guyana, Hitchcock, A.S. 17252 Suriname, Lindeman, J.C., A.R.A. Görts-van Rijn et al. 194 Perrottet, G.S. s.n. Suriname, Focke, H.C. 309 Suriname, Lindeman, J.C., E.A. Mennega et al. 129 Cremers, G., et al. 5726 Granville, J.J. de, et al. 6658 Martin, J. s.n. anno 1819, Perrottet, G.S. s.n. Guyana, Mutchnick, P., et al. 316 Skog, L. & C. Feuillet 5684 Guyana, Jansen-Jacobs, M.J., et al. 5909 Suriname, Lindeman, J.C. 6946 Oldeman, R.A.A. 1992A Suriname, Schulz, J.P. 8723 Suriname, Focke, H.C. 33 Suriname, Maguire, B. & G. Stahel 23611 Guyana, Hahn, W.J. et al. 4182 Cremers, G., et al. 11267 Guyana, McDowell, T., et al. 3240 Guyana, Herb. Rudge, E. s.n. Guyana, Schomburgk, Ro., ser. II 783 Guyana, Tillett, S.S. & C.L. Tillett 45807 Guyana, Smith, A.C. 3621 Suriname, Lanjouw, J. & J.C. Lindeman 2136 Guyana, Hahn, W.J. et al. 5205 Martin, J. 74 Granville, J.J. de, et al. 3457 Sastre, C. 4573 Petitbon, J. 89 Cremers, G., et al. 12401 Suriname, LBB 11268 Guyana, Hahn, W.J. et al. 5781 Suriname, Hostmann, F.W. 44 Guyana, Sandwith, N. Y. 185 Suriname, Stahel, G., Wilh. Exp. 466 Cremers, G., et al. 1990 Suriname, Kappler, A. 1450 Guyana, Jansen-Jacobs, M.J., et al. 6081 Prévost, M.F., et al. 1991 Melinon, E. s.n. Granville, J.J. de, et al. 6415 Guyana, Maas, P.J.M., et al. 3933 Guyana, Cruz, J.S. de la 3824 Guyana, Cruz, J.S. de la 1865 Cremers, G., et al. 12403 Skog, L. & C. Feuillet 7499 Suriname, Focke, H.C. 794 Martin, J. s.n. Guyana, Tillett, S.S. & C.L. Tillett 45891 Suriname, Kappler, A. 1504 Poiteau, P.A. 286 Feuillet, C. 811 Suriname, Samuels, J.A. 169 Melinon, E. 68 Guyana, Jansen-Jacobs, M.J., et al. 1249 Guyana, Smith, A.C. 3428 Cremers, G., et al. 10030 Suriname, Stahel, G., Wilh. Exp. s.n. Guyana, Schomburgk, Ri. 810 Guyana, Jansen-Jacobs, M.J., et al. 4563 Guyana, Gleason, H.A. 683 Mori, S.A. & C. Gracie 21202 Granville, J.J. de, et al. 10643 Granville, J.J. de, et al. 8630 Suriname, Daniëls, A.G.H. & F.P. Jonker 884 Suriname, Maguire, B. 24881 Suriname, Lanjouw, J. & J.C. Lindeman 2127 Suriname, Hekking, W.H.A. 915 Oldeman, R.A.A. 1333 Guyana, Maas, P.J.M., et al. 3186

Inflorescences

Inflorescences of solitary or clustered flowers in leaf axils, each pedicellate and ;57
57. 004

Leaves

Leaves opposite, simple, entire, exstipulate, petiolate.58
58. 003

Lectotypification:

  • Mendoncia squamuligera Nees

New synonyms:

  • Mendoncia perrottetiana Nees to Mendoncia bivalvis (L. f.) Merr.
  • Mendoncia sellowiana Nees var. perrottetiana (Nees) Miquel to Mendoncia bivalvis (L. f.) Merr.

Notes

Traditionally the Mendonciaceae have been included in the Acanthaceae, but they lack both the cystoliths and the specialized mechanism of seed-dispersal which characterize that family (Cronquist, 1981). Most current specialists in the Acanthaceae (Profice, 1989; Daniel, 1992), including myself (Wasshausen, 1989), tend to include the family in the Acanthaceae. For a somewhat detailed examination of this relationship see Brummitt (1989), "Against separating Mendonciaceae from Acanthaceae." According to Daniel (1992), "most workers have distinguished species primarily on the basis of vegetative and bracteolar characters.".

Stems

Stems articulated when young, ;59
59. 002

Studied:

M. aspera, M. hoffmannseggiana, M. microchlamys (Colombia).

Wood

All species of Mendoncia, the sole genus of the family present in S America, are lianas.
Though mature stems of Mendoncia show an almost regular, shallowly fissured appearance they show on cross section a strongly abnormal structure consisting of numerous woody bundles embedded in non-lignified tissue. In young stems it starts with a 4-lobed woody cylinder. By ingrowth of the parenchymatic tissue and splitting of the woody branches the irregularity gets more pronounced, resulting in small patches of non-lignified parenchyma within the woody cylinders with or without contact with the enveloping parenchyma. In this parenchymatic tissue isolated thick-walled, long, acicular fibres, occur and locally some phloem, difficult to trace. Most of the large parenchyma cells contain numerous thin acicular crystals.
Growth rings absent.
Vessels of two sizes: wide and narrow, distribution diffuse, crowded. Large ones 9 (7-12) per sq. mm, mainly solitary, few in radial or tangential multiples of 2-3, outline round to oval, diameter 200-300 (150-400) µm, narrow ones 25-60 µm, some intermediate, usually in radial or tangential multiples of 2-3. Vessel-member length 450 (240-650) µm with a tendency toward greater length in the narrow vessels. Intervascular pits alternate to opposite, the border angular, slits included, occasionally confluent, 9 µm wide. Vessel-ray pitting partly similar, but for the greater part large, irregularly elongate.
Tracheids with a narrow diameter often present near the wide vessels.
Rays 1-2-seriate, 5-8 per mm. Heterogeneous, most cells square and upright; 15-30 µm wide, up to 15 cells (500) µm high.
Parenchyma paratracheal as a vasicentric ring of one cell layer. Strands mostly 3-6-celled, some up to 10 cells, often fusiform cells present. Contents: occasionally cystoliths.
Ground tissue of non-septate and few septate fibres and fibre-tracheids. Diameter 20-24 µm, walls thin, 2-3 µm. Pits simple, numerous in radial and tangential walls. Average length 770 (480-1060) µm. F/V ratio 1.72.
A. Carlquist, S. & S. Zona. 1988: Wood anatomy of Acanthaceae: A survey. – Aliso 12, B. Dechamps, R. 1979: Etude anatomique de bois d'Amérique du sud. I. Acanthaceae à Lecythidaceae. – Ann. Mus. Roy. Afr. Centr., Tervuren Sc. Econ. No. 10, C. Détienne, P. & P. Jacquet. 1983 – In: Atlas des bois de l'Amazonie et des régions voisines. – Nogent-sur-Marne: C.T.F.T., D. Détienne, P., P. Jacquet & A. Mariaux. 1982: – Manuel d'identification des bois tropicaux 3. Guyane française, E. Hess, R.W. 1946: Identification of New World timbers. Part I. – Trop. Woods 86, F. Hess, R.W. 1950: New genera of American woods. – Trop. Woods 96, G. Metcalfe, C.R. & L. Chalk. 1950: – Anatomy of the Dicotyledons II, H. Niesemann, H.W. 1927 – In: Das anormale Dickenwachstum von Mendoncia velloziana Mart. und Afromendoncia lindaviana Gilg. – Berlin, I. Obaton, M. 1960: Les lianes ligneuses à structure anormale des forêts denses d'Afrique occidentale. – Anns. Sci. nat. Bot. 1, J. Outer, R.W. den & W.L.N. van Veenendaal. 1983: Wood anatomy of Uncarina leandrii H. Humb. (Pedaliaceae) and its relation to Bignoniaceae. – IAWA Bull. n.s. 4, K. Schenck, H. 1893: Biologie und Anatomie der Lianen. Teil II: Beiträge zur Anatomie der Lianen. – Schimpers bot. Mitth. aus den Tropen Hft. 5, L. Solereder, H. 1899 – In: Systematische Anatomie der Dicotyledonen. – Stuttgart, M. Solereder, H. 1908: – Systematische Anatomie der Dicotyledonen Ergänzungsband, N. Tchouproff, O. 1895: Anatomie syst. des Acanthaceae. – Bull. Herb. Boiss. 3, O. Tchouproff, O. 1897: Etude sur les causes qui déterminent le fractionnement du bois axial chez Mendoncia schomburgkiana Nees et sur l'origine et le développement des tissues cicatrisants. – Bull. Herb. Boiss. 5, P. Welle, B.J.H. ter. 1980: Cystoliths in the secondary xylem of Sparattanthelium (Hernandiaceae). – IAWA Bull. n.s. 1