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

STERCULIACEAE

CACAO FAMILY

R. David Whetstone and T.A. Atkinson

Perennial to tree; hairs stellate (or scale-like, peltate)
Leaves cauline, alternate, simple or palmately compound, evergreen, petioled; stipules generally deciduous
Inflorescence: generally complex clusters, cymes, or flowers solitary (in axils, opposite leaves, or on a spur branch); whorl of bracts often subtends calyx (especially if petals 0)
Flower bisexual, radial; sepals 5, generally fused at base; petals 0 or 5, clawed, sometimes fused to filament tube; stamens 5 (sometimes alternate 5 staminodes), filaments fused below into tube; ovary superior, sometimes on a stalk that may be fused to filament tube, chambers generally 5, style 1
Fruit: capsule
Genera in family: 60 genera, 700 species: generally tropical, subtropical; some cultivated for ornamental (Fremontodendron ) or for drugs and food (Cola ; Theobroma , chocolate)
Reference: [Brizicky 1966 J Arnold Arbor 47:60–74]