Zygophyllaceae

The Zygophyllaceae (Zygophyllaceae) are herbaceous or rarely woody plants, often xerophytic and halophytic (plants that grow in saline environments).

Description

They are herbs, shrubs or trees, annual or perennial; branches usually divaricate, with angled or bulging nodes, sympodial; hermaphrodite plants. Leaves opposite or occasionally alternate, usually paripinnate, sometimes simple or 2-foliolate, rarely 3–7-foliolate, persistent, often fleshy to coriaceous, stalked to subsessile; leaflets entire or occasionally lobed, inequilateral, petiolulate to subsessile; stipules paired, free, persistent or rarely deciduous, foliaceous or fleshy or spiny. Flowers (4) 5-merous, hypogynous, regular or sometimes slightly irregular; terminal or pseudoaxillary peduncles, with 1 flower, solitary or occasionally several together; sepals (4) 5, free or slightly connate at the base, imbricated when in bud, persistent or sometimes deciduous; petals (4) 5, free or rarely connate at the base, frequently ungulate, sometimes twisted and imbricated or convoluted, deciduous, rarely marcescent; extrastaminal and/or intrastaminal glandular disc usually present and conspicuous; stamens in (1) 2 whorls of 5 each, outermost whorl usually opposite petals, often whorls alternately unequal or sterile, filaments free, subulate to threadlike or rarely winged, frequently glandular or with appendages at base, stamens outer whorl occasionally adnate to petals, inserted into or below disc, anthers dithecal, subbasifix to versatile, introrse, longitudinally dehiscent; gynoecous (2–) 5-carpellate, syncarpic, ovary superior, (2–) 5 (–10)-lobed, (2–) 5 (–10)-locular, sessile or rarely on a short gynophore, the ovules (1) 2–numerous per locule, pendulous or ascending, anatropous, axial or rarely basal placentation, terminal style, usually simple, stigma minute and inconspicuously lobed to obviously ribbed. Fruit capsules (2–) 5-lobed, loculicidal or septicidal, or schizocarps separating longitudinally into 5-10 hard, tuberculate to spiny or winged mericarps, or rarely drupes or berries; seeds 1 (–numerous) per locule, endosperm present or absent, embryo with flattened cotyledons.

There are more than 280 species from hot countries. Some species are:

Fagonia cretica L., purple flower, eye-catching, with stypules transformed into thorns.

Porlieria chilensis I.M.Johnst., purple flower, with stypules transformed into thorns, evergreen tree. Endemic species of the sclerophilic forest of the central area of Chile.

Peganum harmala L., alharma, split leaves, purging seeds, a red dye was obtained: range.

Tribulus terrestris L., abrojo, ruderal, yellow flower, paripinnate leaves, appearance similar to a leguminose, epizoocora (semillas with very hard thorns that stick in the hulls of the cattle).

Zygophyllum fabago L., kills lying down; Z. album, very dry soils, thick leaves and fleshy.

Synonymy

• Balanitaceae.[1] Archived on 3 March 2016 in Wayback Machine.

Subfamilies

• Larreoideae
• Morkillioideae
• Seetzenioideae
• Tribuloideae
• Zygophylloideae