ALBERT

Description: Submerged, rootless, monoecious freshwater plants. Leaves verticillate, 2-4 times forked, segments linear dentate. Flowers actinomorphic, solitary, axillary, unisexual. Perianth valvate, segments 9-12, persistent, narrow. \xe2\x99\x82: stamens 8-24; anthers nearly sessile rather broad, connective pointed, the 2 cells mostly crowned by a minute bristle; ovary rudiment absent. \xe2\x99\x80: ovary superior, sessile, 1-celled with 1 ovule; style persistent, subulate, sulcate towards the apex; stamen rudiments absent. Fruit oblong, compressed, warty, not dehiscent, near the base with 2 straight or curved soft spines, or unarmed.\nDistr. Ca 2 spp., both ubiquitous.

Description: Annual or perennial, saprophytic or autotrophic herbs; the saprophytic species often colourless. Leaves usually spread or alternate, entire, simple, without stipules; non-saprophytic species with a radical rosette of linear leaves; stem leaves often reduced to small scales; sometimes the basal part of the stem provided with many decurrent, grass-like leaves. Flowers \xe2\x99\x80\xe2\x99\x82, usually actinomorphic, solitary or in capitate or cymose inflorescences. Perianth corolline; limb consisting of 2 whorls; tube sometimes 3-winged. Anthers 3, subsessile in the perianth throat and dehiscing laterally with horizontal slits,or 6, hanging down in the perianth tube and dehiscing with longitudinal slits. Connective large, often appendiculate. Style filiform or shortly cylindrical or conical. Stigmas 3, sometimes connate. Ovary inferior, 1-celled with parietal placentation, or 3-celled with axile placentation. Ovules ~, anatropous, with 2 integuments; funicles often rather long. Fruit usually capsular, sometimes fleshy, crowned by the persistent perianth tube and the style, or by a thickened persistent basal ring of the perianth tube, dehiscing irregularly or with transverse slits at the top. Seeds ~, small, subglobose to linear, sometimes with loose, reticulate testa, with endosperm.\nDistr. About 125 species, widely distributed in the tropics of both hemispheres, also in subtropical America, Chicago area, Mo\xc3\xa7ambique, Southern China, Japan, Southern Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania. As many species are rare, it is possible that only a part of their area is known. Most of them are found in moist regions. Among the autotrophic Malaysian Burmanniaceae there are 3 rather common species which are widely spread, viz Burmannia coelestis, B. disticha and B. longifolia. The latter two are absent from Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands, the former occurs in Java proper only in its western part. Of the saprophytic Malaysian species only 3 have been often collected, viz Burmannia championii, B. lutescens, and Gymnosiphon affinis.

Description: Small trees, shrubs or twining woody plants, rarely herbs; branches terete. Glands present in various parts. Indumentum consisting of simple hairs, or in Viburnum sometimes lepidote; glandular hairs mostly present. Stems often pithy. Leaves decussate, simple or deeply divided (Sambucus), sometimes provided with pitted or cup-shaped glands exuding resin. Stipules absent or very small. Flowers \xe2\x99\x80, actinomorphic or zygomorphic, mostly cymosely arranged, 4\xe2\x80\x945-merous; outer flowers in an inflorescence sometimes differing from the normal ones, rarely ( Sambucus p.p.) some fls aborted into extra-floral nectaries. Calyx adnate to the ovary, (4\xe2\x80\x94)5-fid or -toothed, mostly constricted below the limb; sepals often enlarged in fruit. Corolla epigynous, gamopetalous, sometimes 2-lipped, lobes mostly imbricate in bud. Stamens inserted on the corolla tube, alternating with the lobes, extrorse or introrse. Anthers free, 2-celled, dorsifixed, versatile, cells parallel, opening lengthwise, mostly introrse; filaments sometimes reflexed or curved in bud. Ovary inferior, 1-(2-)3-5(-8)-celled, in fruit cells sometimes partly abortive. Style terminal, often slender with one knoblike stigma, or 3 short partly connate styles. Ovules 1(-~), pendulous or axile. Fruit a drupe or berry, rarely a capsule. Seeds often only one per fruit, often with bony testa. Endosperm copious, sometimes ruminate; embryo straight, often small and linear, axial, cotyledons oval or oblong.\nDistr. Ca 10-14 genera, mainly distributed on the N. hemisphere, in the tropics mostly confined to the mountains, on the S. hemisphere only Viburnum and Sambucus, an endemic genus in New Zealand, two monotypic endemic genera in New Caledonia, in Australia only Sambucus in the eastern part.

Description: Aquatic often rather large perennial herbs with creeping, subterranean stolons. Stem simple or branched, leafy at the base, stiff or flaccid, erect or floating, bearing a terminal spike or panicle. Leaves long, linear from a sheathing base. Flowers (\xe2\x99\x82\xe2\x99\x80), crowded in separate globose clusters; lower clusters \xe2\x99\x80, in or above the axil of a leafy bract, stalked or sessile; higher clusters \xe2\x99\x82, bractless or with a small bract. \xe2\x99\x82: Perianth actinomorphic, choriphyllous. Tepals 3(-6), spathulate. Stamens 3(-6); filaments free or connate at the base; anthers basifixed, oblong; pollen globose. \xe2\x99\x80: Tepals as in \xe2\x99\x82 but larger. Ovary 1, exceptionally 2, sessile with a narrow base, unilocular; ovule 1, pendulous; style 1, usually simple, rarely forked; stigma unilateral, short. Fruits densely crowded, sessile with a narrow base, crowned by the style, indehiscent; exocarp spongy, endocarp hard; testa thin; embryo in the middle of the mealy endosperm.\nDistr. Temperate and colder regions of the N. hemisphere, crossing the tropics in Malaysia over the mountains towards Australia and New Zealand. About 15 species have been distinguished, in Malaysia only one sp. occurs.

Description: Herbs or shrubs, sometimes parasitic, usually with twining stems, occasionally prostrate or creeping, or erect, very rarely trees, often with milky juice. Leaves mostly spirally arranged, in parasitic species absent or nearly so, usually petioled; petiole sometimes with extra-floral nectaries. Stipules absent, pseudostipules (leaves of axillary shoot) rarely present. Inflorescences mostly cymose, one- to many-flowered, with mostly opposite or subopposite bracts at the base of the cymes or under the solitary flowers; rarely racemose. Flowers generally hermaphrodite, actinomorphic, rarely slightly zygomorphic, usually 5-merous, rarely 4-merous, various in size and colour, often showy. Sepals usually free, imbricate, with quincuncial aestivation, often persistent, sometimes accrescent in fruit. Corolla sympetalous, of various shapes, often funnel-shaped or campanulate, more rarely rotate, salver-shaped or urceolate; the limb nearly entire or more or less deeply lobed, often contorted-plicate in bud, or valvate or induplicate-valvate. Stamens isomerous, alternating with the corolla-lobes, adnate to the corolla, with usually slender, often filiform filaments and introrse or laterally and longitudinally dehiscing anthers. Pollen smooth or spinulose. Disk mostly present, annular or cupular. Ovary superior, mostly of 2 carpels, 2- or 1-celled, sometimes 4-celled by development of accessory partitions, rarely of 3 carpels and 3-celled; ovules 2 in each carpel, sessile, erect, anatropous. Style 1, often filiform, simple or forked, or 2 free styles, rarely very short or absent. Stigma entire or 2-lobed, rarely 3-lobed, or stigmas 2-4, of various shape, globular or ellipsoid to filiform, sometimes applanate, rarely peltate, kidney-shaped, conical or funnel-shaped. Fruit a capsule dehiscing by valves or circumscissile or irregularly dehiscing, rarely a berry or nut-like. Seeds as many as ovules or fewer; endosperm cartilaginous; cotyledons generally folded, sometimes obscure or absent.\nDistr. Ca 55 genera, with ca 1650 spp., widely distributed in the tropical, subtropical and temperate regions of both hemispheres; the greater part of the species in the tropics and subtropics of America and Asia. The larger genera Cuscuta (ca 165 spp.), Convolvulus (ca 250 spp.) and Ipomoea (ca 500 spp.) nearly throughout the range of the family but Convolvulus more in the temperate parts and Ipomoea more in the tropics and subtropics. Other large genera as Evolvulus (ca 100 spp.) and Jacquemontia (ca 120 spp.) nearly confined to America. Argyreia (ca 90 spp.) confined to tropical Asia. Malaysia, and a single sp. in Australia, and Merremia (ca 80 spp.) circumtropical. Several monotypic or small genera in E. Africa, Madagascar, and Australia.

Description: Mostly perennial, paludose, grass-like herbs with fibrous roots; stembase very rarely thickened, often profusely producing shoots. Leaves basal, distichous on each shoot, ensiform, linear or filiform, sometimes twisted; sheaths with a membranous margin (in Mal. spp.) producing mucilage (?always), with or without a short ligule; limb glabrous or with numerous, small hard papillae, sometimes with a stout nerve in either margin. Flowers \xe2\x99\x80\xe2\x99\x82, in terminal, few- to many-flowered heads, 3-merous, yellow to white, ephemeral, each in the axil of a conspicuous bract; bracts conchate, imbricate, spirally arranged, lower ones sterile; one to few flowers simultaneously in anthesis. Peduncles scape-like, terete to compressed, sometimes winged or ribbed, glabrous or with numerous hard papillae, at the base with some sheaths provided with a short limb. Bracts entire, ciliate, fimbriate or lacerate, with one complete main nerve and some complete or incomplete longitudinal secondary (descending) nerves, in the apical part mostly with a small minutely-papillose field. Calyx zygomorphic; lateral sepals navicular, with entire, dentate or ciliate crest, wings membranous, entire, glabrous or ciliate; median sepal membranous, spathelliform or cap-shaped, enveloping the corolla, mostly obovate, 1-3(-5)-nerved, pushed out by the corolla in anthesis(?always). Corolla actinomorphic, ephemeral; petals with an orbicular to obovate limb and a long, narrow claw, free, cohering mutually or by the staminodes. Stamens mostly 3 fertile epipetalous inserted on the petals and 3 alternating staminodes, staminodes rarely absent, or all stamens fertile; filaments short; anthers basifix, dehiscing lengthwise extrorsely. Ovary superior, sessile to stipitate (in Australian spp. sometimes with 3 hard swellings at the top), 1- or 3-celled, or incompletely 3-celled. Placentas parietal, central, or basal, with ~ ovules; styles filiform, apex 3-fid, stigmas mostly capitate. Fruit shape similar to that of the ovary but larger, loculicidally 3-valved. Seeds ellipsoid to obovoid, often ribbed, with a long funicle.\nDistr. Xyridaceae are confined to the tropics throughout the world including the southern parts of North America; east of Malaysia and Australia hitherto only recorded from the Patau group (Korror) and New Caledonia.

Description: The Flora Malesiana is not preceded by a general key enabling one to identify any unknown native or wild plant to the family or genus to which it belongs. This is certainly a serious lack and presents a formidable handicap to inexperienced taxonomists in rapid naming current collections.\nHowever, there are several forcing arguments for omitting\xe2\x80\x94at present\xe2\x80\x94such an attempt which in itself would present no facile task, and could be accomplished only by a taxonomist thoroughly acquainted with the Malaysian flora. One could of course use some world key as a basis and cut out the entries leading to genera or families not represented in the Malaysian flora, but this procedure would be unsatisfactory, specially as these world keys make little use of vegetative characters; the latter appear to me very important specially in the earlier forks of the keys.

Description: Trees or shrubs, at least two spp. laticiferous. Leaves simple, entire, subopposite or opposite, rarely subverticillate; often with some alternate ones between, penninerved; petiole sometimes with auricles at the top; blade often with glandular pits in the axils of the secondary nerves or scattered on the undersurface; tertiary nerves slender but conspicuous, transverse and usually crowded, more or less perpendicular to the midrib. Stipules small, caducous. Flowers bisexual, in small fascicles or solitary, placed along racemose or more or less broadly paniculate axillary shoots; bracts minute deltoid. Sepals 5, quincuncially imbricate, two inner ones with scarious margins. Corolla infundibuliform, tube short, slightly thickened; lobes spreading, imbricate in bud. Staminodes 5, alternipetalous, inserted in the throat. Stamens 5, epipetalous; filaments short, connate with the base of the petals; anthers basifix, slightly extrorse, 2-celled, longitudinally dehiscent. Ovary superior, 1\xe2\x80\x942-celled, glabrous, contracted into a short stout style; cells with 1 apotropous, ascending ovule, attached to the basis of the central axis; stigma truncate, capitate or faintly 2-lobed. Fruit drupaceous, 1\xe2\x80\x94(2)-seeded, ovoid to oblong; pericarp thin. Seeds with a thin-crustaceous pale dull testa. Hilum small, round, basal; albumen absent; cotyledons thick; radicle inferior.\nDistr. 6 spp. of this mono-generic family occur in SE. Asia and Malaysia.

Description: Dioecious trees (or tall herbs), often lepidote or hairy. Leaves large, simple, entire or dentate, spirally arranged, palminerved (or compound), often asymmetric. Stipules 0. Flowers actinomorphic, valvate, unisexual, rarely polygamous, in elongate, bracteate, caducous spikes or panicles.\xe2\x80\x94\xe2\x99\x82 Flowers: sepals 4-9, free and very unequal or connate in a lobed tube, isomerous, in \xe2\x99\x82 Tetrameles with a few occasionally additional lobules. Petals free, isomerous or 0. Stamens isomerous and episepalous, filaments often long; anthers basifix, intrors or latrors, incurved in bud. Rudimentary ovary present or 0.\xe2\x80\x94\xe2\x99\x80 Flowers: sepals connate above the ovary or free. Petals and rudimentary stamens 0. Styles isomerous, opposite the calyx lobes, mostly inserted on the margin of the calyx, (2-fid, filiform), club-shaped, or with a capitate stigma. Ovary inferior, 1-celled, with 3-8 parietal, alternisepalous placentas. Ovules ~. Capsule opening at the apex with slits or splitting laterally; pericarp membranous. Seeds ~, very small, ovate or spindleshaped; testa punctate or scrobiculate, outer sheet loosely covering the embryo. Albumen 0. Embryo straight, cylindric.\nDistr. Three genera with 4 spp., Datisca (herbaceous) with one sp. in Asia and one in W. Central America, Tetrameles and Octomeles both with one Indomalaysian sp..

Description: Trees (or shrubs), often deciduous, producing gum and an orange juice. Leaves spread, palmatilobed, often with domatia in the axils of the main ribs; stipules caducous. Flowers actinomorphic, bisexual, showy, mostly golden-yellow, paniculate or racemose. Sepals 5 imbricate. Petals 5, imbricate or contorted, emarginate. Stamens ~, with free filaments, equal or subequal; anthers 2-celled, linear, basifixed, opening by introrse, short, often confluent pore-like slits. Ovary 1-celled with laminal placentas projecting into the cell, or perfectly or imperfectly 3-celled, the upper portion remaining 1-celled; ovules ~, style simple, stigma punctiform. Capsule 3\xe2\x80\x945-valved, valves of the endocarp separating from and alternating with those of the pericarp. Seeds covered by woolly hairs, mostly cochleate-reniform; endosperm copious, rich in oil; embryo large, conforming to the shape of the seed; cotyledons broad.\nDistr. Ca 15 spp., mostly in trop. and subtropical America, some in trop. Africa and SE. Asia, 3 species in N. Australia, rare in Malaysia; G. gillivrayi is possibly the only native Malaysian species. LAM assumed the genus to belong to the \xe2\x80\x98antarctic\xe2\x80\x99 type(Blumea 1 (1935) 135), but it is manifestly peri-tropical.