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Family Meliaceae

Description: Evergreen or deciduous trees or shrubs, bark sometimes with a milky latex; indumentum simple or stellate.

Leaves alternate, usually 1-pinnate, rarely 2–3-pinnate or rarely simple, margins mostly entire.

Inflorescences usually axillary panicles, rarely racemose, spicate or whorled. Flowers actinomorphic, bisexual or unisexual. Sepals 3–5, free or fused. Petals usually 3–6, rarely up to 14, fused at base or coherent with each other and staminal tube. Stamens usually 4–10; filaments free or more often variously united to form a tube and either filaments free towards apex or anthers on margin or within throat of staminal tube; anthers 2-locular, dehiscing longitudinally, introrse. Disc present or absent. Ovary superior, usually 2–6-carpellate, and with as many loculi; ovules 1–many per loculus; stigma various.

Fruit a capsule, berry or drupe or rarely a nut; seeds sometimes winged.


Distribution and occurrence: World: 52 genera, c. 600 species, chiefly tropical regions. Australia: 11 genera, 38 species, Qld, N.S.W., N.T., S.A., W.A.

External links:
Angiosperm Phylogeny Website (Family: Meliaceae, Order: Sapindales)
Wikipedia

Text by M. J. Taylor & G. J. Harden
Taxon concept:

Taxa not yet included in identification key
Cipadessa

 Key to the genera 
1Leaves compound with 2–many leaflets; petals less than 2 cm long2
Leaves simple; petals c. 2.5 cm longTurraea
2Leaves 2–3-pinnate, leaflets usually more or less toothedMelia
Leaves 1-pinnate, leaflets generally entire
                       Back to 1
3
3Stamens with filaments free; seeds wingedToona
Stamens with filaments fused into a tube; seeds not winged
                       Back to 2
4
4Fruit a drupe with woody endocarp; staminal tube with frilly lobes and terminated by appendagesOwenia
Fruit a capsule; staminal tube not as above
                       Back to 3
5
5Leaves with usually 10–23 leaflets; staminal tube attached about halfway to petalsDysoxylum
Leaves with 2–11 leaflets; staminal tube not fused to petals
                       Back to 4
6
6Leaves imparipinnate, leaflets 5–11; capsule depressed-globoseSynoum
Leaves paripinnate, leaflets 2 or 4, or rarely 6; capsule obovoid or globose
                       Back to 5
Anthocarapa

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