TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL	previous taxon | next taxon Jepson Interchange (more information)
	©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California Print edition is available from the University of California Press

	The second edition of The Jepson Manual (2012) is available from the University of California Press
	See also the Jepson eFlora, which parallels the Second Edition

BASELLACEAE

BASELLA FAMILY

Elizabeth McClintock

Perennial vines, ± fleshy, glabrous
Leaves simple, alternate, petioled, entire; stipule 0
Inflorescence: raceme, panicle, or spike, terminal or axillary; pedicel subtended by bract, with 2 fused bractlets immediately subtending flower
Flower bisexual, radial; sepals 2; petals 5, ± fused at base to form a shallow cup; stamens 5, from petal cup; ovary superior, chamber 1, styles 3, sometimes ± fused, stigmas ± spheric or elongate
Fruit indehiscent, fleshy or papery, enclosed in perianth
Seed 1
Genera in family: 4 genera, ± 20 species: tropical, subtropical, mostly Am; some cultivated (Anredera , ornamental; Basella , edible leaves; Ullucus , edible tubers)
Reference: [Bogle 1969 J Arnold Arbor 50:590–598]