Spermatophyta: Dicotyledonae: Archichlamydeae: Caryophyllales

Aizoaceae

Gonçalves, M.L. (1978) Aizoaceae Flora Zambesiaca 4

Gonçalves, M.L. (1978) Mesembryanthemaceae Flora Zambesiaca 4

Gonçalves, M.L. (1978) Tetragoniaceae Flora Zambesiaca 4

Description of the family

Annual or perennial herbs, sometimes woody at the base, usually ± succulent. Stipules 0. Leaves opposite or alternate, simple. Inflorescences axillary, solitary or in groups. Flowers bisexual, actinomorphic. Perianth segments 5, united below into a tube, persistent. Stamens 3-many. Ovary superior, of 1-5 united carpels; ovules 1-many per loculus. Fruit a capsule, circumscissile (in ours).

Comment: The relationships between the families Aizoaceae, Mesembryanthemaceae, Molluginaceae and Tetragoniaceae and which genera fall within each family, are controversial. On this site, Molluginaceae remains a separate family while Mesembryanthemaceae and Tetragoniaceae are both sunk under Aizoaceae.

Worldwide: 128 genera and 1,850 species, tropics and subtropics, mostly in South Africa and Australia.

Zimbabwe: 5 cultivated genera and 6 cultivated taxa.

Links to cultivated genera: View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this family

Genus	Content
Aptenia N.E. Br.	Description, Image
Carpobrotus N.E. Br.	Description, Image
Delosperma N.E. Br.	Description
Lampranthus N.E. Br.	Description
Tetragonia L.	Description, Image

Other sources of information about Aizoaceae:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Aizoaceae
Flora of Burundi: Aizoaceae
Flora of Caprivi: Aizoaceae
Flora of the DRC: Aizoaceae
Flora of Malawi: Aizoaceae
Flora of Mozambique: Aizoaceae
Flora of Mozambique: cultivated Aizoaceae
Flora of Rwanda: Aizoaceae
Flora of Zambia: Aizoaceae
Flora of Zimbabwe: Aizoaceae

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Aizoaceae
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Aizoaceae
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Aizoaceae
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Aizoaceae
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Aizoaceae
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Aizoaceae
JSTOR Plant Science: Aizoaceae
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Aizoaceae
Wikipedia: Aizoaceae
Plants of the World Online: Aizoaceae
Tropicos: Aizoaceae