Class
Classification
Subordinate Taxa
Nomenclature
Scientific Name:
Ericaceae
Synonymy:
- = Empetraceae
- = Pyrolaceae
- = Epacridaceae
Description
Shrubs and shrublets, less commonly trees, usually evergreen. Lvs exstipulate, usually alternate, sometimes opposite or whorled. Infl. a terminal or axillary raceme, umbel or panicle, sometimes fls solitary. Fls ☿, regular or nearly so. Calyx 4–5-lobed, persistent and sometimes accrescent. Corolla usually gamopetalous, 4–5-lobed, rarely petals free. Stamens usually twice as many as, sometimes as many as corolla lobes, usually inserted on or between the lobes of a fleshy hypogynous disc; filaments free or rarely ± connate; anthers 2-locular, dehiscing by terminal pores or short slits, sometimes with awns or tails; pollen shed in tetrads. Ovary usually superior, sometimes inferior, 2–5–(10)-celled; ovules numerous on axile placentae. Style and stigma single; stigma simple or lobed. Fr. a capsule or berry. Seeds usually numerous, occasionally few, very small.
[From: Webb et al. (1988) Flora of New Zealand. Volume 4.]
Biostatus
| Category | Number |
|---|---|
| Indigenous (Endemic) | 56 |
| Indigenous (Non-endemic) | 6 |
| Exotic: Fully Naturalised | 13 |
| Exotic: Casual | 12 |
| Total | 87 |
Bibliography
Connor, H.E. 1977: The Poisonous Plants in New Zealand. Edition 2. Government Printer, Wellington.
Connor, H.E.; Fountain, J. 2009: Plants that Poison: A New Zealand Guide. Manaaki Whenua Press, Lincoln.
Cronquist, A. 1988: The evolution and classification of flowering plants. The New York Botanic Gardens, New York.
Kubitzki, K. 2004: VI Flowering Plants. Dicotyledons: Celestrales, Oxalidales, Rosales, Cornales, Ericales. Kubitzki, K. (ed.) The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants. Spinger-Verlag, Berlin. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Mabberley, D.J. 2008: Mabberley's plant book, a portable dictionary of plants, their classification and uses. Edition 3. Cambridge University Press.
Mabberley, D.J. 2017: Mabberley's plant book, a portable dictionary of plants, their classification and uses. Edition 4. Cambridge University Press.
