Common Name: BLADDERNUT FAMILY
Habit: [Perennial herb], shrub, tree; [some monoecious or dioecious]. Leaf: generally opposite, pinnately compound, generally stipuled; leaflets generally toothed. Inflorescence: panicle [raceme], drooping. Flower: radial; sepals 5, free or fused at base, often petal-like; petals 5, free; stamens 5, alternate petals, often attached to disk; ovary superior, chambers 2--4, each with 1--12 ovules in 2 rows. Fruit: generally inflated capsule with open top [follicles, drupe, berry]. Seed: generally 1--2 per chamber.
Genera In Family: 5 genera, 50--60 species: northern temperate, Asia, Central America, South America; some cultivated for showy fruit (Staphylea), timber (Turpinia). Note: Most closely related to Crossosomataceae, Stachyuraceae.
eFlora Treatment Author: Robert E. Preston & James R. Shevock
Scientific Editor: Thomas J. Rosatti.