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Balanopaceae
plant family
- Related Topics:
- Malpighiales
- Fagales
Balanopaceae, family of dicotyledonous flowering plants in the order Malpighiales, containing a single genus (Balanops) and nine species of trees and shrubs that have simple, alternately positioned or somewhat whorled leaves. The plants are further characterized by flowers that lack showy parts (sepals and petals). The male and female flowers occur on separate plants (i.e., the plants are dioecious), the male in catkins (elongated, dangling clusters) and the female solitary. Each female flower consists of a single ovule-bearing structure (pistil) composed of two or three carpels, or structural units, and containing two or three imperfectly separated chambers (locules), each with ...(100 of 174 words)