Caryophyllaceae
SHAHINA A. GHAZANFAR & YASIN J. NASIR
By S.A. Ghazanfar. Genera Minuartia and Silene revised by Y. J. Nasir
National Herbarium, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, Islamabad.
Annual, biennial or perennial herbs, often woody. Leaves simple, entire, usually opposite, less commonly alternate or whorled; stipulate or exstipulate. Flowers actinomorphic, usually hermaphrodite or sometimes unisexual or the plant gynodioecious. Inflorescence simple or compound cymes or flowers solitary. Sepals 4-5 or absent, free or united, entire or lobed (bilobed or fimbriate), often with a limb and a claw. Coronal scales (ligules) present or absent. Stamens (0-)3-10, free, rarely adnate to the sepals. Ovary superior, 1-2-5-Jocular. Placentation free-central. Ovary, stamens and petals sometimes borne on a carpophore. Styles 2-5. Fruit a capsule dehiscing by as many or twice the number of valves or teeth as there are styles or berrylike and indehisceut. Seeds 1-many, globose to pyriform or reniform, with smooth or variously sculptured face, the back sometimes caniculate or winged.
A large family of 70 genera and about 1750 species, cosmopolitan. Represented in Pakistan by 26 genera and 110 species, distributed more or less through-out the country. Except for a few species, the family is of no economic value: Some species are cultivated in gardens.
Acknowledgements: We are grateful to the following Directors/Curators of Herbaria for the loan of herbarium specimens: BM, E, G, K, KUH, M, PPFI-B, W. Than are also due to Mr. I.C. Hedge of Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh for going through the manuscript and giving valuable suggestions. Dr. J.A. Ratter. Royal Botanic Garden; Edinburgh for information concerning the genera Spergula and Spergularia And Dr. C.E. Jarvis (BM, NH), London, for typication of Linnaean taxa.
The financial assistance provided by the U.S. & Department of Agriculture under PL-480 with coordination by Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, Islamabad is gratefully acknowledged,
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| 1 |
Sepals free, slightly united in Pseudostellaria |
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(2) |
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Sepals united, at least at the base |
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(17) |
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| 2 (1) |
Leaves alternate |
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16 Telephium |
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Leaves opposite or spuriously whorled |
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(3) |
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| 3 (2) |
Leaves stipulate |
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(5) |
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Leaves exstipulate |
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(4) |
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| 4 (3) |
Leaves densely imbricate. Plants forming dense, compact cushions (found above 4400m) |
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1 Thylacospermum |
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Leaves not imbricate. Plants not as above |
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(8) |
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| 5 (3) |
Stipules connate at the nodes |
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13 Spergularia |
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Stipules free |
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(6) |
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| 6 (5) |
Sepals keeled |
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15 Polycarpon |
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Sepals not keeled |
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(7) |
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| 7 (6) |
Axillary leaf fascicles present. Stamens 5-10. Seeds keeled or winged |
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12 Spergula |
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Axillary leaf fascicles absent. Stamens 5. Seeds neither keeled nor winged |
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14 Polycarpaea |
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| 8 (4) |
Sepals 4, unequal. Leaves closely adpressed to the stem |
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11 Bufonia |
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Sepals 5(-4), equal. Leaves not as above |
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(9) |
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| 9 (8) |
Flowers in umbels |
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7 Holosteum |
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Flowers solitary or in cymes |
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(10) |
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| 10 (9) |
Capsule globose to ovoid, dehiscing by valves or teeth which are neither reflexed nevolute |
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(11) |
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Capsule cylindric, dehiscing by small teeth, often reflexed or revolute |
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8 Cerastium |
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| 11 (10) |
Styles 4-5 |
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(12) |
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Styles 2-3 |
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(13) |
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| 12 (11) |
Leaves lanceolate to spathulate. Styles 5. Capsule dehiscing by 5 bidentate teeth |
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9 Myosoton |
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Leaves linear. Styles 4-5. Capsule splitting by 4-5 valves |
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10 Sagina |
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| 13 (11) |
Capsule membranous, splitting almost to the base by 2(-4) valves |
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4 Lepyrodiclis |
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Capsule not membranous, dehiscing by more than 2 valves or teeth |
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(14) |
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| 14 (13) |
Capsule dehiscing by as many valves as styles (3) |
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3 Minuartia |
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Capsule dehiscing by twice as many teeth or valves as styles |
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(15) |
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| 15 (14) |
Capsule teeth short, 6 in number |
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2 Arenaria |
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Capsule teeth usually ½ the capsule length, 4-6 in number |
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(16) |
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| 16 (15) |
Napiform tubers present on the rhizome. Cleistogamic and chasmogamic flowers present. Sepals slightly united at the base |
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6 Pseudostellaria |
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Tubers absent. Only chasmogamic flowers present. Sepals free |
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5 Stellaria |
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| 17 (1) |
Fruit a berry, indehiscent |
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19 Cucubalus |
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Fruit a capsule dehiscent |
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(18) |
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| 18 (17) |
Styles 2. Carpophore usually absent |
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(19) |
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Styles 3-5. Carpophore usually present |
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(25) |
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| 19 (18) |
Bracteoles present, adpressed to calyx |
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25 Dianthus |
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Bracteoles absent |
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(20) |
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| 20 (19) |
Calyx with 5 broad wings |
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23 Vaccaria |
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Calyx without wings |
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(21) |
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| 21 (20) |
Leaves acerose, often with a spiny apex. Bract spiny. Calyx often spiny tipped |
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22 Acanthophyllum |
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Leaves, bract and calyx not as above |
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(22) |
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| 22 (21) |
Calyx ribs with hyaline intervals between them. Capsule dehiscing by valves |
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(23) |
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Calyx ribs without hyaline intervals between then. Capsule dehiscing by teeth |
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(24) |
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| 23 (22) |
Seeds reniform to comma shaped with lateral hilum. Calyx mostly with druses |
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20 Gypsophila |
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Seeds peltate without facial hilum. Calyx without druses |
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24 Petrorhagia |
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| 24 (22) |
Calyx long, narrowly cylindrical. Stems rigid, with dichotomous branches |
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26 Velezia |
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Calyx campanulate or cylindrical, never long and
narrow. Stems not branching as above |
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(25) |
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| 25 (24) |
Styles 2. Capsule dehiscing by 4 valves or teeth |
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21 Saponaria |
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Styles 3-5. Capsule dehiscing by teeth, 5 or twice the number of styles |
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(26) |
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| 26 (25) |
Styles 5. Capsule dehiscing by 10 teeth. Carpophore very reduced |
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17 Lychnis |
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Styles 3(-5). Capsule dehiscing by 6(-10) teeth. Carpophore prominent |
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18 Silene |
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List of lower taxa
