|
Sapindaceae, also known as the soapberry family, is a family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales. There are about 140–150 genera with 1400–2000 species, including maple, horse chestnut, and lychee. Sapindaceae members occur in temperate to tropical regions, many in laurel forest habitat, throughout the world. Many are laticiferous, i.e. they contain latex, a milky sap, and many contain mildly toxic saponins with soap-like qualities in either the foliage and/or the seeds, or roots. The largest genera are ''Serjania'', ''Paullinia'', ''Acer'' and ''Allophylus''. The largely temperate genera formerly separated in the families Aceraceae (''Acer'', ''Dipteronia'') and Hippocastanaceae (''Aesculus'', ''Billia'', ''Handeliodendron'') were included within a more broadly circumscribed Sapindaceae by the APG. Recent research has confirmed the inclusion of these genera in Sapindaceae. ==Characteristics== Plants of this family have a variety of habits, from trees to herbaceous plants or lianas. Their leaves usually spirally alternate, sometimes (in ''Acer, Aesculus'', and a few other genera) opposite. They are most often pinnately compound, sometimes palmately compound as in ''Aesculus'', or just palmate as in ''Acer''. The petiole has a swollen base and lacks stipules.〔 Some genera and species have Laurel forest foliage due to convergent evolution. Flowers are small and unisexual, or functionally unisexual, though plants may be either dioecious or monoecious. They are usually grouped in cymes grouped in panicles. They most often have four or five petals and sepals (petals are absent in ''Dodonaea''). The stamens range from four to ten, usually on a nectar disc between the petals and stamen, their filaments are often hairy. The most frequent number is eight, in two rings of four. The gynoecium contains two or three carpels, sometimes up to six. There is usually only one style with a lobed stigma. Most often pollinated by birds or insects, with a few species pollinated by wind.〔 The fruits are fleshy or dry. They may be nuts, berries, drupes, schizocarps, capsules (''Bridgesia''), or samaras (''Acer''). The embryos are bent or coiled, without endosperm in the seed, but frequently with an aril.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sapindaceae」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|