Oxalidales

▪ plant order

 the wood sorrel order of dicotyledonous (dicotyledon) flowering plants, containing 6 families, 58 genera, and 1,810 species. Members of Oxalidales include annuals, perennial herbs, lianas (liana), shrubs, and trees of both temperate and tropical regions. Under the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group II (APG II) botanical classification system, Oxalidales is a previously unexpected association of families that is placed in the Rosid I group of the core eudicots and is closely related to Celastrales (the bittersweet order) and Malpighiales. Compound leaves are common in Oxalidales, and the majority of species have flowers with five or six sepals and petals, twice as many anthers, and five carpels that are either fused or separate. Many species have seeds with an attached aril, which is often associated with animal dispersal.

 Oxalidaceae, or the wood sorrel family, is composed of six genera and 770 species that are characterized by their compound leaves with leaflets having thickened bases (pulvini). Many species show movement by closing their leaves or leaflets at night or in bad weather. oxalic acid accumulates in the plants, giving them their distinctive sour or “sorrel” taste. Most members of Oxalidaceae are found in tropical regions, but some are native or even weedy in temperate regions. The largest genus is Oxalis, with more than 700 species of herbs worldwide, followed by Biophytum, with about 50 species of herbs or small shrubs. Averrhoa is a tropical tree genus with just two species; A. carambola (star fruit) is grown for its edible acidic, ribbed fruits. A number of Oxalis species are grown as ornamentals (their foliage resembles shamrocks), and O. corniculata, with yellow flowers, is often found in greenhouses. Oxalis tuberosa (oca) is cultivated in the Andes for its edible tubers (tuber); O. pes-caprae (Bermuda buttercup) also has tubers that can be used as a vegetable, although the plant is considered a weedy pest in many parts of the world.

       Connaraceae includes trees, shrubs, and especially lianas from the tropics, particularly in the Old World. Many of the 180 species from 12 genera are poisonous; they have pinnately compound leaves and follicular fruits containing red or orange seeds. The pantropical Connarus and Rourea comprise the majority of species. The Malesian Cnestis platantha has edible seeds. The Central American Rourea glabra is used to tan animal skins dark blue or purple. Species of Agelaea are used medicinally; for example, A. villosa is used in West Africa for treating dysentery, and A. emetica is used in Madagascar to induce vomiting.

 Elaeocarpaceae is composed of 12 genera and 605 species of trees and shrubs distributed primarily in the tropics, except for mainland Africa (though some species are found on Madagascar). Elaeocarpus and Sloanea make up more than half of the species in the family, and both include important timber trees. Motillo (S. berteriana) from the West Indies is known for its heavy wood, whereas carabeen (S. woollsii) gives a light wood. Elaeocarpus, Crinodendron, and Aristotelia are cultivated. Seeds of Elaeocarpus, such as those of the Ceylon olive (E. serratus), are often eaten. Maqui berries (Aristotelia chilensis) are used to make a Chilean wine and are reputed to have medicinal qualities.

      Brunelliaceae consists of a single genus (Brunellia) of 55 species of Neotropical trees. Vegetatively they resemble Cunoniaceae in their opposite, compound, and stipulate leaves, but the flowers lack petals and are unisexual with male and female flowers on separate trees (dioecious). Each flower produces two or three follicular fruits with arillate seeds.

       Cunoniaceae, or the cunonia family, with 27 genera and 280 species, includes shrubs, trees, and climbers. They have opposite leaves with well-developed stipules between the leaf bases; the leaves themselves are pinnately compound, with an uneven number of serrate leaflets. The flowers are small and numerous, with the stamens longer than the petals. The family is pantropical but is most abundant in the Southern Hemisphere, particularly in Australia, New Caledonia, and New Guinea. The largest genus is Weinmannia, with about 160 species. Some species are used for timber—for instance, light coachwood (Ceratopetalum apetalum) in New South Wales.

 Cephalotaceae, or the Australian pitcher plant family, contains just one species (Cephalotus follicularis, or the fly-catcher plant). A rosette of leaves produces an inner whorl of flattened leaves and an outer whorl of modified pitcher-shaped leaves with lids. Insects are attracted to the pitchers, trapped in the pitchers by downward-projecting hairs, and finally killed and digested within the pitchers. The species is not related to the American or Asian pitcher plant families (Sarraceniaceae and Nepenthaceae, respectively); however, all three families show a remarkable degree of evolutionary convergence in nutrient-poor soils on three separate continents.

Paul E. Berry

 

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