Chaetocarpus

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Chaetocarpus

Description

Trees or shrubs, dioecious. Leaves simple, distichous; Stipules very asymmetric, early caducous. Inflorescences dense axillary clusters of flowers (reduced thyrses), brachyblasts increasing in size with age. Flowers actinomorphic; Fruit a rhegma, subglobose, in Malesia outside densely echinate with glochidiate hairs, inside glabrous, dehiscing septicidally into 3(-4) segments, latter almost loculicidally split to the base; Seeds ovoid, flattened, 1-3 per fruit, black, glossy, covered in upper third by a thin aril;

Distribution

Pantropical present, W Malesia present
10 or 11 species pantropical, one species in W Malesia.

Notes

1. The third (and very seldom a fourth) inner sepal is placed within the other two sepals and is alternisepalous and thinner than the sepals. Therefore, it might as well be described as a petal (see also ). Petals are reported to be absent in Chaetocarpus and this character is considered to be the main difference with the genus Trigonopleura. Obviously, the difference between both genera is not in the complete absence or presence of petals, but in the reduced number of petals in Chaetocarpus.
2. The New Guinean specimens (Docters van Leeuwen 10234 and Takeuchi et al. 15939), identified as C. pubescens (Thwaites) Hook.f. (a species so far only known from Sri Lanka), are not added to this treatment, because the material is too poor to ascertain their identification.

Citation

G.L.Webster 1994 – In: Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard.: 65
Whitmore 1973 – In: Tree Fl. Malaya: 76
Welzen 1994 – In: Rheedea: 94
Thwaites 1981 – In: Kew Bull.: 275
Craib 1912 – In: Contr. Fl. Siam, Aberdeen Univ. Stud.: 194
Ridl. 1924 – In: Fl. Malay Penins.: 310
Welzen 2000: p. 56. – In: Thai Forest Bull., Bot.: f. 3
Airy Shaw 1972 – In: Kew Bull.: 231
Hook.f. 1887 – In: Fl. Brit. India: 460
Kurz 1877 – In: Forest Fl. Burma: 408
Gagnep. 1926 – In: M.H.Lecomte, Fl. Indo-Chine 5: 471
Thwaites 1861: Enum. Pl. Zeyl.: 274
Müll.Arg. 1866 – In: DC., Prodr. 15: 1257
Airy Shaw 1975 – In: Kew Bull.: 67
Pax 1890 – In: Engl. & Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam. 3: 89
Müll.Arg. 1866 – In: DC., Prodr. 15: 1121
Thwaites 1897: Nat. Pflanzenfam.: 212
Pax & K.Hoffm. 1912 – In: Engl., Pflanzenr. 147: 7
Baill. 1858: Étude Euphorb.: 323
Radcl.-Sm. 2001: Gen. Euphorbicearum: 116