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Dipsacaceae

Y. NASIR


Botany Department, Gordon College, Rawalpindi.

Scabiosa olivieri var. olivieri
Illustration

Credit: M.Y. Saleem

Mainly herbs with opposite or whorled, exstipulate leaves. Flowers bisexual in involucrate heads. Common receptacle bracteate or setose. Individual flowers surrounded by a tubular involucel. Calyx limb cupular or of linear pappus-like segments or setae. Corolla gamopetalous, 4-5-lobed. Stamens usually 4, epipetalous. Ovary inferior, unilocular, with 1 pendulous ovule. Fruit an achene, crowned by the persistent corona and enclosed within the 4- or 8-ribbed involucel.

A family of 8 genera and c. 260 species; chiefly N. temperate Europe and Asia, the eastern Mediterranean region, tropical E. and S. Africa. Represented here by 5 genera and about 10 species.

Acknowledgements: We are grateful to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for financing this research under P.L. 480. Thanks are also due to Messrs. B.L. Burtt, I.C. Hedge, Miss J. Lamond of Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh and Dr. S.M.H. Jafri of Karachi University Herbarium, for going through the manuscript and giving valuable suggestions. We are grateful to Mr. C.C. Townsend, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, for the latin diagnosis of the new species.


1 Corolla 5-fid   (2)
+ Corolla 4-fid   (3)
       
2 (1) Calyx limb of 5 aristate setae. Involucel with a scarious and prominent corona   Scabiosa
+ Calyx limb of 10-24 plumose setae. Involucel with a short corona   Pterocephalus
       
3 (1) Calyx limb 2-4-lobed. Receptacular bracts spine- tipped   Dipsacus
+ Calyx limb cupular, toothed or of 8 to many aristate setae. Receptacular bracts herbaceous, coriaceous or sometimes absent   (4)
       
4 (3) Receptacular bracts herbaceous or absent   Knautia
+ Raceptacular bracts coriaceous   Cephalaria

Lower Taxa


 

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