Spermatophyta: Dicotyledonae: Archichlamydeae: Caryophyllales

Nyctaginaceae - Bougainvillea family

Stannard, B.L. (1988) Nyctaginaceae Flora Zambesiaca 9(1)

Description of the family

Shrubs, herbs or climbers, sometimes spiny. Stipules 0. Leaves opposite or alternate (Bougainvillea), simple. Inflorescences various. Flowers bisexual or unisexual, actinomorphic. Bracts present, sometimes brightly coloured. Perianth: lower part persistent, usually green, upper part often petal-like and coloured, sometimes caducous. Stamens 1-many. Ovary superior, 1-locular. Fruit indehiscent, usually composed of the persistent accrescent basal part of the perianth enclosing an achene.

Worldwide: 30 genera and 390 species, tropical and warm areas, especially America, a few temperate.

Zimbabwe: 4 genera and 9 taxa.

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

Genus	Content
Boerhavia L.	Description, Image
Bougainvillea Comm. ex Juss.	Description, Image
Commicarpus Standl.	Description, Image
Mirabilis L.	Description, Image

Other sources of information about Nyctaginaceae:

Our websites:

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

External websites:

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