Convolvulaceae Juss.
Including Dichondraceae Dum., Erycib(ac)eae Endl., Poranaceae J.G. Agardh
Habit and leaf form. Herbs (mostly, climbing or trailing), or shrubs, or lianas, or trees (a few);
laticiferous (usually), or non-laticiferous and without coloured juice. Plants succulent, or non-
succulent; autotrophic. With neither basal nor terminal aggregations of leaves. Trailing or
climbing (nearly always), or self supporting; stem twiners (characteristically), or scrambling.
Helophytic, mesophytic, and xerophytic. Leaves alternate; spiral; `herbaceous', or fleshy;
petiolate (mostly), or subsessile, or sessile; non-sheathing; simple. Lamina dissected, or entire
(entire or lobed); when dissected, pinnatifid, or palmately lobed; pinnately veined, or palmately
veined; cross-venulate; cordate, or hastate, or sagittate. Leaves exstipulate; without a persistent
basal meristem.
General anatomy. Plants with laticifers (usually, these articulated and non-anastomosing), or
without laticifers.
Stem anatomy. Cork cambium present; initially deep-seated (rarely?), or superficial. Nodes
unilacunar. Cortical bundles absent. Medullary bundles present (rarely), or absent. Internal
phloem present (commonly), or absent. Secondary thickening anomalous (often), or developing
from a conventional cambial ring; via concentric cambia (commonly), or from a single cambial
ring. `Included' phloem present, or absent. Xylem with tracheids; with fibre tracheids (in addition
to tracheids), or without fibre tracheids; with vessels. Vessel end-walls simple. Sieve-tube
plastids S-type. Pith with diaphragms, or without diaphragms.
Androecium 5. Androecial members adnate (to the base of the corolla); all equal, or markedly
unequal (often); free of one another; 1 - whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens.
Stamens 5; oppositisepalous. Anthers dehiscing via longitudinal slits; introrse; tetrasporangiate.
Microsporogenesis simultaneous. The initial microspore tetrads tetrahedral, or decussate. Anther
wall initially with one middle layer; of the `dicot' type. Tapetum glandular. Pollen grains
aperturate; 3 - aperturate, or 4-20 - aperturate (to polyforaminate); colpate (including rupate), or
porate, or colporate (?), or foraminate, or rugate; 2-celled, or 3-celled.
Fruit fleshy, or non-fleshy; when synstylous, multiple, or not multiple. The units coalescing into
a secondary syncarp to not coalescent. The fruiting carpel when synstylous, dehiscent, or
indehiscent; nucular, or baccate. Fruit dehiscent, or indehiscent; a capsule, or a berry, or a nut.
Capsules loculicidal, or circumscissile, or splitting irregularly. Seeds endospermic. Endosperm
oily. Seeds conspicuously hairy, or not conspicuously hairy. Cotyledons 2 (plicate, often bifid).
Embryo chlorophyllous (5/11); straight, or curved.
Austin 1973.
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