TRIURIDACEAE [Draft]
霉草科 mei cao ke
Guo Youhao (郭友好)[1]; Martin Cheek[2]
Saprophytic herbs reddish, purple or yellow. Stems erect, simple or subsimple. Leaves reduced, scale-like, alternate, not green. Flowers small, unisexual, monoecious or dioecious, rarely bisexual or polygamous, actinomorphic, in racemes or subcorymbs, with decurved bracteate pedicels; perianth-segments 310, 1-seriate, valvate, usually united at base, sometimes appendaged at apex, reflexed after flowering; stamens 26, inserted at base of receptacle or perianth; anthers 2- or 4-thecous, extrorse, mostly opening by transverse slit; connective often reduced into long subulate appendages; carpels 6-many, free; style terminal to almost basal; ovule solitary, basal. Fruits crowded, opening by a slit. Seed with a fleshy white oily undifferentiated nucleus.
Seven genera and ca. 80 species: tropics and subtropics; one genus and three species (two endemic) in China.
1. SCIAPHILA Blume, Bijdr. 514. 18251826.
喜荫草属 xi yin cao shu
Roots with hairs. Stems short, slender. Inflorescences racemose; flowers unisexual or bisexual, pedicellate; perianth-segments 38(10); stamens 2, 3, or 6; filaments absent or very short; anthers 3- or 4-thecous; connectives not produced into appendages; carpels numerous; style lateral or basal. Follicles opening by a longitudinally slit.
About 50 species: tropics and subtropics; three species (two endemic) in China.
1a. Plants with male and bisexual flowers; perianth-segments crinite at apex 1. S. tenella
1b. Plants without bisexual flowers, monoecious; perianth-segments not as above.
2a. Stems usually simple; styles almost basal, claviform; carpels claviform at mature 2. S. megastyla
2b. Stems branched; styles almost apical, filiform; carpels slightly curved at mature 3. S. ramosa
1. Sciaphila tenella Blume, Bijdr. 515. 18251826.
喜荫草 xi yin cao
Stems 718 cm tall. Scale-like leaves broadly ovate, ca. 2 mm, amplexicaul at base. Inflorescences 514 cm; flowers bisexual and male; pedicel 46 mm, decurved after flowering; bracts lanceolate, ca. 2 mm; perianth-segments of bisexual flowers 6, acute to acuminate and crinite at apex; stamens 6; carpels ca. 20; styles short, lateral; perianth-segments of male flowers similar with bisexual ones; stamens 6; filaments short, united at base. Follicles 1.52 mm in diam. Seeds elliptical, 3-ribbed. Fl. summer.
Forests. Hainan (Aixian) [Indonesia, Philippines].
2. Sciaphila megastyla Fukuyama & T. Suzuki, J. Jap. Bot. 12: 412. 1936.
大柱霉草 da zhu mei cao
Stems usually simple, 412 cm tall along with inflorescences. Scale-like leaves ovate-lanceolate, 24 mm, mucronate or retuse at apex. Inflorescences short, 39-flowered; flowers monoecious; pedicels slightly curved upwards; bracts 13 mm; perianth-segments 6, subulate, 23 mm; stamens 3 or 2, sessile; carpels numerous, claviform and attenuate toward base at mature; styles almost basal, claviform.
About 300 m. Taiwan (Lan Yu).
3. Sciaphila ramosa Fukuyama & T. Suzuki, J. Jap. Bot. 12: 414. 1936.
多枝霉草 duo zhi mei cao
Stems branched, ca. 12 cm tall along with inflorescences. Scale-like leaves lanceolate, mucronate at apex. Inflorescences short, 37-flowered; flowers monoecious; pedicels slender, erect, ca. 4 mm; bracts 1.52 mm; perianth-segments (4)6, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, ca. 0.8 mm; stamens 2 or 3, subsessile; carpels numerous, obovate and slightly curved at mature; styles almost apical, filiform.
About 300 m. Taiwan (Lan Yu).