Centrolepidaceae

views updated

Centrolepidaceae A family of tufted or cushion-like herbs (see CUSHION PLANT) that have bristle-like leaves, similar to grasses, rushes, or mosses. They may be annual or perennial. The inflorescence is terminal and in a spike, with one or more pseudanthia consisting of 1 or 2 male flowers and 2 or more female flowers. The female flowers have a unilocular ovary, 1 style, and 1 ovule. The fruit has a membranous pericarp and dehisces by a longitudinal split. There is 1 seed in the locule; it has a large endosperm. The most closely related family is the Restionaceae. There are 3 genera, with 28 species, found in South-east Asia, the Pacific, and temperate S. America.