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Basellaceae Habit: Perennial herb vines, +- fleshy, glabrous. Leaf: simple, alternate, petioled [not], entire [toothed]; stipules 0. Inflorescence: panicle [raceme, spike], axillary or terminal; pedicel subtended by bract. Flower: generally bisexual, radial, immediately subtended on pedicel by [1]2 bractlets; sepals 2; petals [4]5[--13], +- fused basally into shallow cup; nectary a ring; stamens [4]5[--9], from petal cup, basally fused, basally widened; ovary superior, chamber 1, styles [1]3, +- fused basally. Fruit: utricle, indehiscent, fleshy or papery, enclosed in dry perianth. Seed: 1. Genera In Family: 4 genera, +- 20 species: tropics, subtropics, mostly America; some cultivated (Anredera, ornamental; Basella, edible leaves; Ullucus, edible tubers). Note: Based on anatomy, some authors interpret sepals as bracts, petals as sepals; Basella alba L. cultivated in California. Jepson eFlora Author: Michael A. Vincent Reference: Bogle 1969 J Arnold Arbor 50:590--598; Nowicke 1996 Syst Bot 21:187--208 Scientific Editor: Thomas J. Rosatti. Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange) Previous taxon: Impatiens glandulifera Next taxon: Anredera |