Holarctic, Paleotropical, and Neotropical. Temperate to tropical. Mostly tropical or subtropical, southern USA., Central and South America, especially in the Andes, only Fissenia (Kissenia) in Arabia and Southwest Africa.
Floral characters
Flowers sometimes solitary, mostly aggregated in inflorescences, terminal inflorescence unit cymose. Flowers regular, cyclic. Calyx: (4-)5(-7) ; Corolla: (4-)5(-7) ; Androecium: 10 - many; Gymnocium: 10 - many Fertile flowers hermaphrodite. Unisexual flowers absent. Plants hermaphrodite. Floral nectaries present, or absent. Nectar secretion from the androecium (from staminodes).
Leaf characters
Spirally arranged or opposite, simple and often lobed. Lamina dissected, or entire; when dissected, variously pinnatifid, or palmatifid, or much-divided; pinnately veined or palmately veined; cross-venulate. Leaves exstipulate (at least mostly). . Stomata present. Hairs present (coarse, silicified and often calcified); eglandular, or glandular. Urticating hairs often present Cystoliths present (commonly, at the bases of hairs) or absent.
Stipules
mostly absent
Fruit characters
Fruit non-fleshy; dehiscent (usually) or indehiscent; a capsule (usually, straight or spirally twisted) , a capsular-indehiscent, achene-like or a nut. Capsules usually septicidal or loculicidal. Seeds usually copiously endospermic. Endosperm oily. Embryo well differentiated. Cotyledons 2, flat. Embryo straight or curved.
Glands
present or absent
Hairs
present
Latex
absent
Uses
some cultured for ornamental herbs
Chemical characters
Iridoids commonly detected; Flavonols present; kaempferol, or quercetin.
Distribution maps
(online von http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb/ . Dort zitiert wie unter jedem Diagramm vermerkt):
