STERCULIACE^: 297 



CHARACTERS OF THE STERCULIACE^ 



The STERCULIACE^E are a family of plants, confined 

 to the tropics. They comprise herbs, shrubs and trees. 

 The ends of the young twigs, and the surface of the 

 newly-opened leaves are often covered with a dense 

 brown tomentum of branched hairs, and this though 

 not confined to the STERCULIACE^E, is very character- 

 istic of the family. 



The leaves are alternate, stipulate, simple or digi- 

 tately compound. The flowers, generally small and 

 inconspicuous because of the absence of petals, are 

 arranged in a cymose inflorescence, regular and five- 

 merous. Sepals five, petals five or none. Stamens 

 five to ten or fifteen, monodelphous as a tube round 

 the stalk of the ovary, anthers normal (two-celled) 

 in a ring or on the edge of a cup, sometimes 

 with staminodes, under the ovary. Ovary five-celled 

 .generally separating in fruit into its five constituent 

 carpels, but sometimes becoming a berry or woody 

 capsule. 



By its description the family may appear to resemble 

 the MALVACEAE, but there is never an epi-calyx (brac- 

 teoles, as often in the latter, and the anthers are two- 

 celled not one-celled. The flowers too are usually small 

 .and many together, not at all like the large showy, 

 generally singly borne flowers of the MALVACEAE, so 

 that the two families are not really like each other. 

 Economically the most important plant of the family is 

 THEOBROMA CACAO, whose orange red fruits, looking 

 like inflated cucumbers, contain the seeds from which 

 cocoa and chocolate are made. 



