Spermatophyta: Dicotyledonae: Archichlamydeae: Ericales

Lecythidaceae - Brazil-nut family

Barringtoniaceae

Bailey, L.H. & Bailey, E.Z. (1976) Hortus Third. A concise Dictionary of Plants Cultivated in the United States and Canada Macmillan Publishing Co, Inc., New York

Fernandes, A. (1978) Barringtoniaceae Flora Zambesiaca 4

Germain, R. (1963) Scytopetalaceae Flore du Congo du Ruanda et du Burundi Volume X 320-331

Liben, L. (1971) Lecythidaceae Flore du Congo du Rwanda et du Burundi Jardin Botanique National de Belgique, Bruxelles

Mori, S. A. & Prance, G. T. (2006 onwards) The Lecythidaceae Pages (http://sweetgum.nybg.org/lp/index.html). The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York.

Prance, G.T. & Jongkind, C.C.H. (2015) A revision of African Lecythidaceae Kew Bulletin 70(6) 1-68

Walters, S.M. et al. (eds) (2000) The European Garden Flora. Vol. VI. Dicotyledons (Part IV). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

Description of the family

Trees or shrubs. Stipules 0 or caducous. Leaves simple, alternate or clustered at branch apices. Flowers actinomorphic or zygomorphic, solitary or in spikes, clusters or racemes. Sepals usually 4-6. Petals usually 4-6, ± free. Stamens many in several whorls, often arranged on one side of the flower. Ovary inferior, 2-6-locular. Fruit a berry or woody capsule, indehiscent or dehiscent by a lid (circumscissile).

Worldwide: 20 genera and 285 species in the tropics, mainly South American rain forests.

DRC: 7 genera and 12 taxa.

No image yet

Links to genera:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this family

GenusContent
Brazzeia Baill.Description, Image
Crateranthus Baker f.
Napoleonaea P. Beauv.Description, Image
Oubanguia Baill.
Petersianthus Merr.Description, Image
Rhaptopetalum Oliv.
Scytopetalum Pierre ex Engl.Image

Other sources of information about Lecythidaceae:

Our websites:

Flora of Mozambique: Lecythidaceae
Flora of Mozambique: cultivated Lecythidaceae
Flora of Zambia: Lecythidaceae
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Lecythidaceae

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Lecythidaceae
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Lecythidaceae
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Lecythidaceae
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Lecythidaceae
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Lecythidaceae
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Lecythidaceae
JSTOR Plant Science: Lecythidaceae
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Lecythidaceae
Wikipedia: Lecythidaceae
Plants of the World Online: Lecythidaceae
Tropicos: Lecythidaceae



Copyright: The DRC flora team, 2024-25

The DRC flora team (2025). Flora of the Democratic Republic of Congo: Family page: Lecythidaceae.
https://www.drcongoflora.com/speciesdata/family.php?family_id=262, retrieved 19 April 2025

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