Calophyllaceae J. Agardh

Cabral, Fernanda Nunes, Bittrich, Volker & Hopkins, Michael John Gilbert, 2017, Clusiaceae s. l. (Calophyllaceae, Clusiaceae s. s. and Hypericaceae) in the Viruá National Park, Roraima, Brazil, Phytotaxa 329 (1), pp. 1-27 : 4-5

Calophyllaceae J. Agardh

Type: Calophyllum Linnaeus (1753: 513) .

Trees or shrubs, rarely lianas. Exudate cream, white or translucid. Leaves simple, opposite or alternate (distichous or spiral), usually coriaceous or fleshy, stipules lacking, margin entire, with secretory cavities or channels, colleters lacking or present. Cymes or racemes, usually terminal, rarely solitary flowers. Flowers bisexual or rarely unisexual, actinomorphic, white or cream, 4–5-merous, sepals (2–)4–6(–17)-merous, imbricate; petals (2–)4–5(–12)-merous, free, imbricate or convolute; stamens numerous, often with complex or simple apical oil-glands; ovary superior, 2–5 carpels, placentation axillary, basal or parietal, style usually long; ovules vary from 1 to many per carpel. Berries or capsules. Seeds1-many. Embryo with cotyledons huge or of moderate size.

Calophyllaceae are composed of 14 genera and about 460 neo- and paleotropical species ( Stevens 2001, onwards, Wurdack & Davis 2009) and it can be divided in two tribes: Calophylleae (pantropical) and Endodesmieae (restricted to tropical Africa) ( Stevens 2001, onwards, Ruhel et al. 2011). In Brazil, the family is represented by 83 species ( BFG 2015).

1 Calophyllum Linnaeus (1753: 513) .

Type: Calophyllum calaba Linnaeus (1753: 514) .

Trees or treelets; exudate yellow or cream. Leaves opposite, decussate, secondary veins densely parallel. Racemes, axillary, bracts deciduous, bracteoles absent. Flowers bisexual or unisexual (plants usually dioecious); tepals 0–8, opposite or imbricate, white. Stamens numerous. Ovary 1-locular, 1 basal ovule, style 1 and usually long, stigma expanded. Berries, coriaceous, usually globular. Seed 1, testa woody.

Pantropical; with ca. 190 species ( Díaz 2013, Stevens 2001, onwards) and four species in Brazil ( BFG 2015).