Trees, shrubs, lianas or herbs; Twigs or stems are often hollow (in Triplaris usually inhabited by stinging ants);
Floral characters
Inflorescence very variable, paniculate, racemous or spicate; flower small and reduced; typically trimerous with 3-6 tepals (5 tepals in Coccoloba); tepals basally connate into a minute to evident floral tube, persistent, often enlarged in fruit; stamens 6-9; disc present; three-angled superior ovary; 1-locular, styles 2-3, free or basally united; stigmas 2-3; ovule 1, basal;
Leaf characters
leaves simple, uniformly alternate, entire; entire or unusually crenate margins ; usually with a conspicious ochrea; ochrea: stipule-derived ring of tissue sheathing twig around the node; unique to the family, but sometimes reduced to a nodal ring; The conical stipule at branchlet apex prior to formation of the ochrea is also typical and especially useful in a few Coccoloba species where the ochrea is not very conspicious. Most arborescent taxa have rather close-together secondary venation. The petiole typically has a flatened base with wings connecting to ochreal margin.
Stipules
present; to an ochrea connated stipules
Fruit characters
always one-seeded; usually three-winged or three-angled achene, surrounded by persistent perianth; seeds with well developed endosperm;
Glands
absent
Hairs
present or absent
Latex
absent
Uses
Ornamentals (Antigonon)
Distribution maps
(online von http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb/ . Dort zitiert wie unter jedem Diagramm vermerkt):
Polygonaceae
map: from Hultén 1971; FloraBase 2008; Tanya Schuster, pers. comm.
