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

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]