Family: Cucurbitaceae
Ecballium
Citation:
A. Rich., in Bory, Dict. Class. Hist. Nat. 6:19 (1824).
Derivation: Latin ecballo, to throw out; alluding to the active seed discharge.
Synonymy: Not Applicable Common name: None
Description:
Trailing herbs with annual stems from perennial rootstocks; stems thick, scabrid; tendrils absent; leaves simple, triangular to ovate, cordate, pubescent on the lower surface, scabrid on the upper surface.
Male flowers in axillary bracteate racemes; hypanthium broadly campanulate; calyx 5-lobed, lobes lanceolate; corolla deeply 5-lobed, lobes ovate, acute, yellow; stamens 3; filaments inserted on the hypanthium; anthers 2 2-locular, 1 1-locular, locules flexuose; disk absent; female flowers solitary, sometimes co-axillary with males; perianth similar to males; staminodes absent; ovary ellipsoidal, setose; ovules many, horizontal; stigmas 3, 2-fid, subulate, recurved.
Fruit ellipsoidal, juicy at maturity, bristly, dehiscing actively through ruptured attachment of the pedicel; seeds many, ovate, smooth.
Distribution:
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Monotypic genus native to the Mediterranean region and south-western Asia, naturalised in temperate Australia including S.Aust.
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Biology:
No text
Author:
Not yet available
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