Olacaceae
YASIN J. NASIR
National Herbarium, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, Islamabad.
Trees or shrubs, often scandent, rarely climbing, prickly or not. Leaves alternate, simple entire or lobed, exstipulate. Inflorescence racemose or cymose but sometimes axillary, solitary. Flowers regular, bisexual or unisexual, small, greenish or white. Calyx truncate or 4-6-toothed, accrescent and free or adherent to the fruit or not. Petals 3-6, united or free. Fertile stamens as many as and opposite the petals, sometimes twice the number, free or ± united at the base; anthers appendaged or not, dehiscing longitudinally or by pores. Staminodes present or not. Disc if present ± cupular. Ovary superior or semi-inferior, 2-5-locular at the base, with 1 pendulous ovule in each locule; style 1; stigma 2-5-lobed. Fruit a drupe or a nut. Seed endospermic.
A family of 25 genera and c. 250 species, found in the tropics and sub-tropics of both the new and old world. Represented in Pakistan by 1 doubtfully recorded species.
Acknowledgements: We are grateful to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for financing this research under PL-480. Thanks are also due to Mr. I.C. Hedge for going through the manuscript and to the Director, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh for the loan of specimens.
