Spermatophyta: Dicotyledonae: Archichlamydeae: Magnoliales

Myristicaceae - Nutmeg family

Pope, G.V. (1997) Myristicaceae Flora Zambesiaca 9(2)

Description of the family

Dioecious or monoecious, often aromatic, evergreen trees, rarely lianes, with coloured latex. Leaves alternate, simple, entire, often gland-dotted. Stipules 0. Indumentum of stellate, T-shaped or uniseriate hairs. Inflorescences (in ours) paniculate or capitate; bracts usually present; bracteoles usually 0. Flowers small, unisexual, actinomorphic; perianth 3-4-lobed. Male flowers: stamens 2-30; filaments partially or competely fused into a column; anthers 2-6, 2-thecous, adnate to the column; rudimentary gynoecium 0. Female flowers: carpel 1; ovary superior; style small or 0; stigmas 2-lobed; ovule 1. Fruit a drupe, usually splitting into 2 valves. Seeds often enclosed by a brightly-coloured fleshy aril. Endosperm abundant, oily.

Worldwide: 19 genera and 400 species in the tropics

Zambia: 2 genera and 2 taxa.

Pycnanthus angolensis subsp. schweinfurthii

Links to genera:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this family

GenusContent
Pycnanthus Warb.Description, Image
Staudtia Warb.Description

Other sources of information about Myristicaceae:

Our websites:

Flora of Burundi: Myristicaceae
Flora of the DRC: Myristicaceae

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Myristicaceae
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Myristicaceae
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Myristicaceae
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Myristicaceae
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Myristicaceae
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Myristicaceae
JSTOR Plant Science: Myristicaceae
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Myristicaceae
Wikipedia: Myristicaceae
Plants of the World Online: Myristicaceae
Tropicos: Myristicaceae



Copyright: Mike Bingham, Annette Willemen, Nicholas Wightman, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Mark Hyde, 2011-24

Bingham, M.G., Willemen, A., Wightman, N., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. and Hyde, M.A. (2024). Flora of Zambia: Family page: Myristicaceae.
https://www.zambiaflora.com/speciesdata/family.php?family_id=307, retrieved 14 October 2024

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