Bignoniaceae Juss.

Bignoniaceae, H. Heine. Flora of West Tropical Africa 2. 1963

Habit

Trees or shrubs, sometimes scandent, very rarely herbs

Leaves

Leaves opposite, rarely alternate, mostly compound, digitate or pinnate, sometimes the terminal leaflet tendril-like (but not in the native genera of W.Africa); stipules absent, pseudostipules present in some genera

Flowers

Flowers often showy, hermaphrodite, more or less zygomorphic

Calyx

Calyx campanulate, closed or open in bud, truncate or 5-toothed, sometimes spathaceous

Corolla

Corolla with 5 imbricate lobes sometimes forming 2 lips, the upper of 2, the lower of 3 lobes

Androecium

Anthers connivent in pairs or rarely free, 2-celled, opening lengthwise; staminode representing the fifth stamen often short, sometimes absent, often 3 present when only two stamens Stamens alternate with the corolla-lobes, only 4 or 2 perfect

Nectaries

Disk usually present

Gynoecium

Ovary superior, 2-celled with 2 placentas in each cell or 1-celled with parietal bifid placentas Style terminal, 2-lipped; ovules numerous

Fruits

Fruit capsular or fleshy and indehiscent

Seeds

Seeds often winged, without endosperm; embryo straight

Bignoniaceae, Sally Bidgood, Bernard Verdcourt, Kaj Vollesen. Cobaeaceae, Bernard Verdcourt. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 2006

Habit

Trees, shrubs or woody climbers, rarely (not native in Flora area) perennial or shrubby herbs.

Leaves

Leaves opposite, pinnate, bipinnate, digitately 2–3-foliolate or (not native in Flora area) simple, terminal leaflet sometimes replaced by a tendril.

Stipules

Stipules absent but pseudostipules often developed and sometimes foliaceous.

Flowers

Flowers large and showy, bisexual, in several to many-flowered terminal or axillary racemes or panicles, or in fascicles, or solitary on dwarf shoots.

Calyx

Calyx gamosepalous, 5-toothed or -lobed to almost truncate or splitting spathaceously.

Corolla

Corolla gamopetalous, from almost symmetric to strongly bilaterally symmetrical; tube campanulate to infundibuliform or cylindrical; limb 5-lobed.

Stamens

Stamens 4, didynamous or (more rarely) subequal, adnate to the corolla tube, included or exserted, staminode often present.

Anthers

Anthers 2-thecous (rarely 1-thecous), usually divergent, dehiscing longitudinally.

Disc

Disk usually conspicuous, annular or tubular.

Ovary

Ovary superior, 2-carpellate, 2-locular with axile placentation or ( Kigelia) unilocular with parietal placentation.

Ovules

Ovules numerous in each locule.

Style

Style one, terminal.

Stigma

Stigma bilobed.

Fruits

Fruit a capsule, dehiscing by 2 loculicidal or septicidal valves, perpendicular or parallel to the septum, or ( Kigelia) fleshy and indehiscent.

Seeds

Seeds numerous, compressed and winged in species with capsular fruits, wingless in species with indehiscent fruits.