originally from South Africa; Asia, Ausstralia, Middle and South America Climate: dry environment, some original species in tropical rainforest, occuring on exposed eroded windswept ridgetops on the edge of montane or premintane cloud forests, also scattered in lowlands; grow on nutrient-poor soil
Floral characters
zygomorphic; inflorescence: raceme, spike or flower head with one circle of floral bracts; mostly bisexual, rarely monosexual (dioecious); 2-4 conspicious scales instead of corolla; carpel petiolate with one or many ovules flower formule: Ca(4) Co0 A4 G_1
Leaf characters
alternate, entire or divided, leathery and hairy
Stipules
absent
Fruit characters
nuts, drupes, follicles
Glands
present
Hairs
present
Latex
absent
Uses
Macadamia integrifolia and Gevuina avellana have edible nuts; Grevillea sp. used as lumber; also ornamental plants
Chemical characters
Phenolic ingridients: Flavonoid derivative, tannin; cyongenic glycosids; also skin-irritating ingredients
Distribution maps
(online von http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb/ . Dort zitiert wie unter jedem Diagramm vermerkt):
Proteaceae
map: from Johnson & Briggs 1975; Weston 2006; Prance et al. 2007
