Family Petermanniaceae

Petermanniaceae Hutch.

~ Philesiaceae p.p.

Habit and leaf form. Lianas (with prickly stems). Rhizomatous. Climbing; stem twiners and tendril climbers (the tendrils derived from inflorescences). Mesophytic. Leaves alternate; spiral; petiolate to subsessile; non-sheathing; simple. Lamina entire; oblong; pinnately veined (pinnate-parallel); cross-venulate. Leaves exstipulate. Lamina margins entire.

Leaf anatomy. Stomata present; anomocytic.

The mesophyll containing calcium oxalate crystals. The mesophyll crystals raphides. Vessels absent.

Stem anatomy. Secondary thickening absent. Xylem with vessels, or without vessels. Vessel end-walls scalariform.

Root anatomy. Root xylem with vessels; vessel end-walls scalariform.

Reproductive type, pollination. Unisexual flowers absent. Plants hermaphrodite. Floral nectaries present, or absent (? — no septal nectaries).

Inflorescence, floral, fruit and seed morphology. Flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’; in panicles. The ultimate inflorescence unit cymose. Inflorescences leaf-opposed; raceme-like, paniculate. Flowers regular; 2 merous; cyclic; pentacyclic. Perigone tube absent.

Perianth of ‘tepals’; 6; free; 2 whorled; isomerous; sepaloid, or petaloid (?); similar in the two whorls.

Androecium 6. Androecial members free of the perianth; free of one another; 2 whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 6; diplostemonous. Anthers dehiscing via longitudinal slits; extrorse; tetrasporangiate. Pollen shed as single grains. Pollen grains aperturate; 1 aperturate; sulcate.

Gynoecium 3 carpelled. Carpels isomerous with the perianth. The pistil 1 celled. Gynoecium syncarpous; eu-syncarpous; inferior. Ovary 1 locular. Gynoecium stylate. Styles 1. Stigmas 1; capitate. Placentation parietal. Ovules in the single cavity 15–50 (‘fairly numerous’).

Fruit fleshy; indehiscent; a berry; 15–100 seeded (‘many’ seeded). Seeds endospermic. Testa without phytomelan (?).

Geography, cytology. Australian. Sub-tropical to tropical. Eastern Australia.

Taxonomy. Subclass Monocotyledonae. Dahlgren et al. Superorder Liliiflorae; Dioscoreales. APG 3 core angiosperms; Superorder Lilianae; non-commelinid Monocot; Order Liliales.

Species 1. Genera 1; only genus, Petermannia.