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Family Monimiaceae

Description: Evergreen shrubs, trees or lianas, monoecious or dioecious [all NSW species are dioecious]. Plants glabrous to densely pubescent with unicellular, simple or stellate hairs.

Leaves simple, exstipulate, opposite or rarely (not in Australia) whorled, entire to toothed, pinnately veined with conspicuous midrib; lamina with small translucent oil dots; petiole well-developed to almost absent.

Inflorescence terminal or axillary, occasionally ramiflorous, in racemes, panicles, cymes or fasciculate, or occasionally flowers solitary. Bracts and bracteoles present or absent. Flowers unisexual, actinomorphic, pedicellate, with a well-developed receptacle. Perianth of 1 or more whorls; tepals indistinct to distinct and ±sepaloid, in pairs around an ostiole or irregularly arranged. Male flowers with few to many stamens, regularly arranged in 1–5 pairs (occasionally more), or numerous (to 60) and more irregularly arranged. Stamen filaments present to absent. Anthers basifixed, not versatile, dehiscing by horizontal or longitudinal slits; the connective not or sometimes distinctly prolonged and enlarged into an apical appendage. Female flowers often opening after anthesis by upper part falling as a calyptra. Carpels 4–50 (–100), superior, free; style single, terminal, unbranched, or absent and stigma ±sessile; ovary 1-locular, with a solitary ovule; placentation basal or apical; rarely outer carpels appearing sterile (staminodes).

Fruit of separate or (less commonly) clustered drupes, borne on or within persistent and often expanded receptacle. Drupes ±smooth, stipitate or sessile.


Distribution and occurrence: A family of about 27 genera and 440 species, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere. In Australia 8 genera with 26 species, with several poorly known taxa from N Qld awaiting description. Occurs from Cape York Penin. S to Tasmania.

External links:
Angiosperm Phylogeny Website (Family: Monimiaceae, Order: Laurales)
Wikipedia

Updated by H. Sauquet (2019)

Text by Flora of Australia (2007)
Taxon concept: Flora of Australia (2007) ,APG I-IV

 Key to the genera 
1Climbers or scrambling shrubs; young leaves and stems with rough stellate hairs; leaves usually entire, sometimes finely crenate; drupes enclosed in a fleshy receptacle that splits at maturityPalmeria
Trees or erect shrubs; glabrous or hairy, but hairs not stellate; leaves usually toothed, rarely entire or crenate; either drupes borne on an expanded receptacle2
2Leaves leathery, usually thick and rigid; main veins raised and prominent, and reticulum either prominent and raised or obscure; perianth lobes 4 or 6, or 8 by duplication of the lobes to the insideWilkiea
Leaves thin and soft, but firm; main veins raised and prominent, reticulum prominent but not raised; perianth lobes 6–10 in one whorl
                       Back to 1
Hedycarya

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