Interesting Facts
Description
Family Piperaceae
Herbs, shrubs
, or climbers
, rarely trees
, usually aromatic
. Vascular bundles
± scattered
in transverse
section
in a monocotyledonlike manner. Tip
of stem sometimes enclosed within a stipulelike sheath
, the prophyll, sometimes adnate
to petiole
, absent in Peperomia. Leaves alternate, often opposite or whorled
in Peperomia, simple
, base
often asymmetric
, palmately or pinnately veined. Inflorescence a pedunculate
spike, rarely grouped into an umbel, rarely a raceme
(in Zippelia), leaf-opposed or axillary
, rarely terminal
. Flowers small, bisexual
, hermaphroditic
, polygamous or dioecious, nearly always sessile; bracts small, usually peltate or cupular, usually without perianth. Stamens 1-10; filaments
usually free
; anthers
2-locular, distinct
or connate
, longitudinally dehiscent
. Gynoecium 2-5-carpellate, connate; ovary superior, 1-locular, ovule 1, orthotropous
; stigmas 1-5, sessile or with very short styles. Fruit a small drupe or nutlet
; pericarp fleshy
, thin or dry, sometimes with sticky papillae (in Peperomia) or glochidiate
spines (in Zippelia) . Seeds with copious
starchy perisperm
and a minute embryo embedded
in small endosperm.
About eight or nine genera and 2000-3000 species: tropical
and subtropical
regions, mostly in North and South America, rather fewer in Asia, a few in Africa; three genera and 68 species (36 endemic, four introduced
) in China.[1]
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Plantae
()
- Haeckel, 1866
- Plants
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
()
- Cavalier-Smith, 1981
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
()
- Sinnott, 1935 ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Vascular Plants
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
()
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
()
- Kenrick & Crane, 1997
- Class:
Magnoliopsida
()
- Brongniart, 1843
- Dicotyledons
- Subclass:
Magnoliidae
()
- Novák ex Takhtajan, 1967
- Superorder:
Piperanae
()
- Reveal, 1994
- Order:
Piperales
()
- Dumortier, 1829
- Family:
Piperaceae
()
- C. Agardh, 1824, nom. cons.
- peppers
- Genus:
Methysticum
()
- Specific epithet:
methysticum
- (G.Forst.) A.Lyons
- Botanical name: - Methysticum methysticum (G.Forst.) A.Lyons
- Specific epithet:
methysticum
- (G.Forst.) A.Lyons
- Genus:
Methysticum
(
- Family:
Piperaceae
(
- Order:
Piperales
(
- Superorder:
Piperanae
(
- Subclass:
Magnoliidae
(
- Class:
Magnoliopsida
(
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
(
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
Notes
Publishing author : Farw. Publication : Druggists' Circ. 61: 230 1917
Similar Species
Members of the genus Methysticum
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 0 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:
More Info
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Further Reading
- Tseng Yung-chien, Chen Pei-shan & Zhu Pei-zhi. 1982. Piperaceae. In: Tseng Yung-chien, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 20(1): 11-78.
Notes
Contributors
- The International Plant Names Index. Accessed Jan 19, 2007.
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 9487544
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 15731380
- Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:677760-1
- International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ID: 677760-1
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 1363535
Footnotes
- Yung-chien Tseng, Nianhe Xia & Michael G. Gilbert "Piperaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 4 Page 110. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
