Moreae

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Moreae

Description

— The habit varies from tall primary forest trees to small trees and shrubs, subshrubs, to herbs (in Fatoua), and climbers (in species of Maclura and Trophis scandens). Thorns are found in the species of Maclura and in some species of Streblus, in the former genus they facilitate climbing. Milky sap is absent in Fatoua.
Trees, shrubs, or in Fatoua, herbs or subshrubs, dioecious or sometimes monoecious, with or without uncinate hairs. Leaves alternate and distichous, or less commonly spirally arranged, sometimes (sub)opposite; stipules small to large, lateral to semi-amplexicaul. — The inflorescences of the Moreae are mostly unisexual. Bisexual inflorescences are typical for Bleekrodea, Fatoua, and Streblus elongatus, although in these taxa the inflorescences can be unisexual, pistillate and/or staminate. In the other taxa the inflorescences are normally unisexual and the plants mostly dioecious. The inflorescences are short-branched cymes, racemes, spikes, heads, or uniflorous (as the pistillate ones in several species of Streblus).
Inflorescences unisexual or less commonly bisexual, racemose, spicate, cymose, capitate, or uniflorous pedunculate, bracteate; stamens 3, 4, or 5, inflexed in the bud and bending outwards suddenly and elastically at anthesis, or sometimes straight in the bud; ovary mostly free, stigmas 2 and then equally or unequally long, or 1. — Dehiscent drupes occur in Bleekrodea, Broussonetia, Fatoua, and some of the Streblus species. In other Streblus species the fruits are red or black coloured berries. In the other genera the fruits are largely or entirely enveloped by fleshy, mostly coloured perianth. Fruit drupaceous, dehiscent and releasing or ejecting the endocarp body, or indehiscent, achene-like, or forming a drupaceous whole with the fleshy perianth. Seed small and with endosperm, or large and endosperm (almost) lacking;

Distribution

Africa present present, Asia-Tropical, Asian-Australasian region present, Madagascar and adjacent islands present, North America present, neotropics present
This tribe comprises eight genera, seven of them represented in Malesia. The eighth genus is Milicia Sim, with two species, is confined to the African continent. The number of species is c. 70, c. 47 of them occur in the Asian-Australasian region. Nine species occur in the Neotropics and two are confined to the North American continent. Twelve species occur in the African region, seven of them are endemic to Madagascar and adjacent islands. These numbers show that the Asian-Australasian region is the centre of this tribe. The largest genus in this region is Streblus.

The genera Morus and Broussonetia can be regarded as elements of the northern warm temperate region (see below). Some species of Maclura and Streblus, most of them thorn-bearing shrubs, small trees or climbers, are elements of relatively dry climatic conditions.

Taxonomy

The tribe as currently defined includes most of the genera referred to this tribe by Corner (1962), but it also includes the other genera with urticaceous stamens such as Broussonetia, Maclura, and Malaisia, as well as the neotropical genus Olmedia. The latter two have been reduced to sections of Trophis (Berg 1988). However, the neotropical genera Clarisia and Sorocea are currently included in the tribe Soroceae (see Berg 2005).
A. Berg, C.C. 1988: The genera Trophis and Streblus (Moraceae) remodelled. – Proc. Kon. Ned. Akad. Wetensch. 91, B. Berg, C.C. 2005: Flora Malesiana precursor for the treatment of Moraceae 8: other genera than Ficus. – Blumea 50, C. Corner, E.J.H. 1962: The classification of Moraceae. – Gard. Bull. Singapore 19

Citation

Corner 1962 – In: Gard. Bull. Singapore 19: 211
C.C. Berg 1988 – In: Proc. Kon. Ned. Akad. Wetensch.: 345