Family:
Celastraceae R.Br.

Pristimera Miers

This genus is accepted, and its native range is Tropics & Subtropics.

[FTEA]

Celastraceae, N.K.B. Robson, N. Hallé, B. Mathew and R. Blakelock†. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1994

Morphology General Habit
Tall unarmed lianes or scandent shrubs; older stems normally terete, with pale yellow wood
Morphology General Exudate
Latex usually absent (present in P. graciliflora subsp. newalensis)
Morphology Leaves
Leaves opposite or subopposite, petiolate; blade toothed, sometimes finely so, or occasionally entire
Morphology Leaves Stipules
Stipules small, free, with at least one prominent very acute tooth
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences of paired axillary dichotomous cymes with no accessory branches, sometimes forming a terminal panicle
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers small, pedicellate, 2–6 mm. in diameter; buds globose to ovoid
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Sepals 5, with quincuncial aestivation, equal or unequal, entire or ± denticulate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals 5, with quincuncial aestivation, sessile or rarely slightly unguiculate, overlapping in the bud stage
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Disc
Disc reduced, annular or cup-shaped, produced around the base of the ovary, sometimes lobed between the petal bases, the filaments attached directly to the disc without an androgynophore
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 3, small; anthers dehiscing by a transverse slit; pollen very small, simple, tricolporate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil
Ovary half sunken below the point of attachment of the filaments, trilobed with 3 locules, each with 4–10 ovules; style with a punctiform stigma or ± trilobed
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit of 3 flattened mericarps, each of which dehisce by median sutures into 2 caducous valves
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds winged, the wing with a marginal and a submedian vein (the raphe), inserted in a series of compressed triangular pocket-like structures at the point of attachment; cotyledons united; ovules with no conspicuous features.

[FTEA]

Celastraceae, N.K.B. Robson, N. Hallé, B. Mathew and R. Blakelock†. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1994

Morphology General Habit
Tall unarmed lianes; older stems normally terete, with pale yellow wood
Morphology General Exudate
Latex absent
Morphology Leaves
Leaves opposite or subopposite, petiolate; blade entire or dentate
Morphology Leaves Stipules
Stipules very reduced
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences axillary, pedunculate, sometimes forming a terminal panicle; cymes dichotomous, always without accessory branches, their internodes ± quadrangular; bracts small, acute, opposite
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers moderately sized, 5–10 mm. in diameter, often green, sometimes yellow, ± pedicellate; buds globose, ovoid or oblong
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Sepals 5, with quincuncial aestivation, ovate or nearly round, equal or unequal, entire or minutely fimbriolate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals 5, with quincuncial aestivation, elliptic, oblong or somewhat spathulate, sessile, much overlapping markedly in bud
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Disc
Disc slightly sinuous just above the base of the petals, then extended upwards into a fleshy ± cylindrical or truncate-conical androgynophore
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 3, inserted on the 3 locules of the ovary at about 1/2 or 2/3 the height of the locules; gynoecium with 3 swellings between the filaments and 3 small furrows which are hidden by the filaments
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Pollen
Pollen simple, tricolporate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary Ovules
Ovules (4–)6–16 per locule, arranged ± in 2 ranks; style small, slender or subpyramidal, truncate or obscurely trilobed at the apex
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit of 3 mericarps each with 2 caducous valves
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Embryology not known. Seeds winged, the wing with a marginal and a submedian vein (the raphe), inserted in a series of compressed-triangular pocket-like structures at the point of attachment

Native to:

Angola, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Bolivia, Borneo, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Burundi, Cabinda, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Central African Repu, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, French Guiana, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Leeward Is., Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Tanzania, Uganda, Uruguay, Venezuela, Windward Is., Zambia, Zaïre, Zimbabwe

Pristimera Miers appears in other Kew resources:

First published in Trans. Linn. Soc. London 28: 360 (1872)

Accepted by

  • Govaerts, R., Nic Lughadha, E., Black, N., Turner, R. & Paton, A. (2021). The World Checklist of Vascular Plants, a continuously updated resource for exploring global plant diversity. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-021-00997-6 Scientific Data 8: 215.

Literature

Flora of Tropical East Africa

  • A.C. Sm. in Brittonia 3, 3: 367 (1940)
  • N. Hallé in Bull. Mus. Hist Nat. Paris, sér. 4, T3, 1981, sect. B, Adansonia 1: 5–14 (1981)
  • in Trans. Linn. Soc. Bot. 28: 360 (1873)

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0