Aizoaceae

The aizoaceae (Aizoaceae) are a family of herbs or subshrubs belonging to the order Caryophyllales.

Description

They are herbaceous or subshrub plants, with entire and opposite leaves, often fleshy. Most of the members of Aizoaceae are xerophytes, that is, plants adapted to withstand long periods of drought, which is why they are well represented in desert areas. Many of the species of this family exhibit a foliar reduction to avoid excessive transpiration, as an adaptation to xeric conditions.

Many species also have an abundant amount of calcium crystals under the epidermis, which form a protective crystalline layer against insolation.

The flowers are apetalous but have numerous staminodes, generally brightly colored, with the appearance of a petaloid corolla; They are hermaphrodites and are pollinated by insects. With 4-5 or more functional stamens, upper, middle or lower ovarian gynoecium with 1 to 20 carpels. The fruit is a dehiscent capsule, called a nut or nut.

Taxonomy

The family comprises about 1100 species divided into 126 genera, which in turn are distributed into 5 subfamilies:

Subfamilies

• Aizooideae
• Sesuvioideae
• Tetragonioideae
• Mesembryanthemoideae
• Ruschioideae

Genres