Melastomaceae
Read about Melastomaceae in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Melastomaceae (from the genus Melastoma, derived from the Greek black-mouth, because the berries of some of the species when eaten stain the mouth black). Melastoma Family. Fig. 43. Herbs, shrubs or trees; erect, climbing or epiphytic: branches often 4- sided: leaves opposite or whorled, simple, mostly entire, usually palmately nerved throughout with transverse nervelets: flowers bisexual, regular or slightly irregular, often perigynous; sepals 3-6, mostly 5, valvate, imbricated or united into a calyptra-like hood; petals commonly 5, convolute; stamens usually twice as many as the petals, rarely just as many; anthers mostly opening by terminal pores, inflexed in the bud, often curved; connective very peculiar and diverse, with various appendages; often one anther cell wanting, the other mounted on the end of the lever-like, versatile, curved connective; ovary usually 4-5-celled, more or less inferior; ovules numerous in each cell; style and stigma 1: fruit a berry, drupe or capsule, or dry and indehiscent, usually inclosed in the calyx. Most of the 148 genera and about 2,800 species, are found in tropical America, where the species are very abundant and form a characteristic component of the vegetation; represented in the eastern United States by 4 species of Rhexia (deer-grass, meadow beauty). Melastomaceae is a very distinct, striking and peculiar tropical family related to the Myrtaceacae and the Lythraceae, recognized by the venation of the leaves, and the unusual stamens. The so-called “cauliflower” species, with the flowers borne directly on the tree-trunks, are pollinated by butterflies in the deep tropical forests. Some Melastomaceae are myrmecophilous, i.e., furnish habitations or food for ants, which in turn protect the plant. The fruits of several species are eaten. The berries and bark of some yield coloring matter of some importance. A yellow dye is obtained from the leaves of Memecylon of the East Indies and Africa; red and black dyes are secured from the berries of Tamonea (tropical America), Melastoma (East Indies), and so on. The leaves of Tamonea theaezans are used by the Peruvians in place of tea. Some, because of astringent properties, are locally used as medicine. The most important use of the Melastomaceae is ornamental. The large, showy, queer flowers and striking foliage render them popular greenhouse plants in the North. Some 20 genera are cultivated in N. America, mostly as warmhouse decorative plants, or for summer beading. Few, if any, have popular names.
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References
- Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
External links
- w:Melastomaceae. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
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