Didiereaceae
| Didiereaceae | |
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| Alluaudia montagnacii | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| (unranked): | |
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Didiereaceae
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The Didiereaceae are a small family of just four genera and 11 species of flowering plants endemic to south and southwest Madagascar, where they form an important component of the Madagascar spiny forests.
Molecular studies have shown the genus Portulacaria (previously in Portulacaceae) is part of this family, thus extending its distribution beyond the island of Madagascar. In addition, phylogenetic studies have shown that the genus Ceraria is located within Portulacaria genus, and therefore extends both genus and family still further.[2]
Contents
Description
The plants are spiny succulent shrubs and trees from 2–20 m tall, with thick water-storing stems and leaves that are deciduous in the long dry season. Some species build a distinct youth form as small procumbent shrubs before a dominant stem is produced.
All species are dioecious (Decaria female-dioecious). The leaves, produced from the brachyblasts (much like the areoles found in cacti), are small, appear single or in pairs and are accompanied by conical spines. The flowers are unisexual (except from Decaria) and radially symmetric.
The family is also closely related to the New World family Cactaceae (cacti), sufficiently closely so that the species of Didiereaceae can be grafted successfully on some cacti.
Key to the genera
| 1 | Spines in groups of four or more: | Didierea |
| - | Spines single or in pairs: | → 2 |
| 2 | Shoots striking zigzagged, spines short conical: | Decarya |
| - | Shoots not zigzagged, spines long conical to needle-like: | → 3 |
| 3 | Shrubs strongly branched, leaves lanceolate: | Alluaudiopsis |
| - | Shrubs little branched, leaves either ovate to circular or scale-like and awl-shaped: | Alluaudia |
Genera and species
- Alluaudia ascendens (Drake) Drake 1903
- Alluaudia comosa (Drake) Drake 1903
- Alluaudia dumosa (Drake) Drake 1903
- Alluaudia humbertii Choux 1934
- Alluaudia montagnacii Rauh 1961 – probably a natural hybrid of A. ascendens and A. procera
- Alluaudia procera (Drake) Drake 1903 – quite easy grown and the most frequent species in cultivation
Alluaudiopsis Humbert & Choux 1934
- Didierea madagascariensis Baillon 1880
- Didierea trollii Capuron & Rauh 1961
Several of the species are grown as indoor ornamental plants in specialist succulent collections.
Gallery
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Alluaudia ascendens.JPG
Alluaudia ascendens
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Alluaudia montagnacii
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Alluaudia procera, detail
See also
References
Literature
- Eggli, Urs (Ed.): Sukkulentenlexikon Band 2: Zweikeimblättrige Pflanzen (Dicotyledonen) Eugen Ulmer Verlag, Germany 2002. ISBN 3-8001-3915-4
