Clusiaceae Lindley

Cabral, Fernanda Nunes, Bittrich, Volker & Hopkins, Michael John Gilbert, 2017, Clusiaceae s. l. (Calophyllaceae, Clusiaceae s. s. and Hypericaceae) in the Viruá National Park, Roraima, Brazil, Phytotaxa 329 (1), pp. 1-27 : 7-8

Clusiaceae Lindley

Type: Clusia Linnaeus (1753: 509) .

Trees, shrubs or herbs, terrestrial, hemi-epiphytic or lianas. Exudate white, cream, yellow or orange. Leaves simple, opposite, coriaceous or cress, stipules lacking, margin entire, with secretory cavities, colleters present or lacking, petiole base sometimes with an intrapetiolar cavity, sometimes perulae present, leaving scars on branches after falling; leaf blades with linear exudate channels and/or glandular dots. Cymes, or solitary flowers, terminal or axillary. Flowers bisexual or unisexual (usually dioecious), actinomorphic, sepals (2–)4–6(–17), free, imbricate; petals (2–)4–6(–14), white, yellow or pink, imbricate or convolute; stamens 4 to numerous, sometimes grouped in fascicles or whorls, or fused into a synandria, staminodes similar to stamens or connate in resiniferous rings or in a central mass; ovary superior, (2–)3–5(–21) carpels, placentation axillar, ovules vary from 1 to many per carpel, style single or in equal number to the carpels, stigma 1 per locule. Capsules or berries, fleshy. Seeds (1–)2 to many per locule, sometimes arillate or surrounded by an edible pulp, cotyledons minute.

Clusiaceae s.s. are composed of 14 genera and about 800 neo- and paleotropical species. It has been divided into three tribes: Clusieae (neotropical), Garcinieae (pantropical) and Symphonieae (pantropical) ( Stevens 2001, onwards, Ruhfel et al. 2011). In Brazil, the family is represented by 131 species ( BFG 2015).

3 Clusia Linnaeus (1753: 509) .

Type: Clusia major Linnaeus (1753: 509) .

Shrubs, trees, small trees or hemi-epiphytes. Exudate white, cream, yellow, translucid or yellowish-brown, usually abundant. Leaves opposite; exudate channels visible in most species, colleters present. Cymes or solitary flowers. Flowers usually unisexual (mostly dioecious); with epicalyx bracts, sepals 2–numerous, petals 4–10, quincuncial; floral resin secreted by staminodes and/or stamens. Staminate flowers with 4-numerous stamens, staminodes and pistillode present or absent. Pistillate flowers with staminodes shorter than stamens, stigmas sessile or on short styles, equal to the number of locules of the ovary. Ovary with 4-numerous locules, with 1 to usually many ovules per locule. Capsule, carnose-coriaceous, dehiscence septifragal, stigma persistent, calyx persistent in most species. Seeds usually more than one per locule, with reddish, orange or yellowish aril.

Neotropics and subtropics; with ca. 300–400 species ( Pipoly et al. 1998, Stevens 2001, onwards) and 67 species in Brazil ( BFG 2015).