Pedaliaceae |
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Ihlenfedt, H.-D. (2006) Pedliaceae in Flora of Somalia 3: 366-374 Plants small deciduous trees or shrubs, subshrubs, or annual or perennial herbs, the perennial hebs sometimes with a caudex; sometimes armed with spines formed by persistent petioles; aerial parts, at least when young, covered with glands that produce mucilage when wet, also often with simple hairs Leaves usually opposite, sometimes alternate, without stipules; blades usually simple, sometimes succulent, entire to lobed, usually pinnately, sometimes digitately. Inflorescences axillary, usually of solitary flowers, sometimes few-flowered cymes or raceme-like aggregates. Flowers pedicellate; pedicels usually with 2-several nectar glands at the base; calyces with 5 free sepals; corollas united, tubes obliquely campanulate, funnel-shaped, or cylindrical, often constricted at the base, often gibbous adaxially or, rarely, spurred at the base; corolla limbs slightly 2-lipped, lowermost lobes distinctly enlarged or lobes subequal; stamens 4, 2 short and 2 long, usually attached at the base of the corolla tubes, usually included, 1 staminode often present; anthers with 2 parallel or diverging thecae, dehiscing longitudinally, connectives usually with an apical galnd; nectary disc usually conspicuous, often asymmetrical,; ovaries superior, usually 2-celled, the cells often completely or partially divided by false septa, each compartment containing 1-many ovules attached to a cenral placenta; styles simple, filiform, exceeding the anthers; stigmas usually 2-lobed. Fruits woody or leathery, dehiscent or indehiscent, usually with horns, spines, or wings; seeds 1-many in each compartment, seed coat often sculptured, sometimes forming wings, endsperm very thin but seeds containing considerable amounts of fat. The family Pedaliaceae includes about 15 genera and 70 species. It grows primarily in the arid regions of Africa south of the Sahara, with a few outliers in Madagascar, India, Sre Lanka, islands of the Malayan archipelago and northern Australia. Pedaliaceae includes the important oil-yielding crop Sesamum indicum. Mucilage, extracted from the mucilage glands of various members of the family is widely used for body care, as a substitute for soap and as a lubricant in human and veterinary medicine. It is also use to cure indigestion. ©Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Reproduced with permission. |
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