Spermatophyta: Dicotyledonae: Archichlamydeae: Malpighiales

Rhizophoraceae - Onionwood family

Torre, A. & Gonçalves, M. L. (1978) Rhizophoraceae Flora Zambesiaca 4

Description of the family

Trees and shrubs. Leaves simple, opposite, rarely whorled, with interpetiolar stipules. Inflorescences axillary, of various types. Flowers bisexual (in ours), actinomorphic. Calyx gamosepalous; lobes 4-5(-7). Petals as many as calyx lobes and alternating with them, free. Stamens twice as many as petals or more. Ovary inferior to superior; style 1 (in ours). Fruit a berry, drupe or (in ours) a capsule. Seeds arillate.

Comment: The family includes three genera of mangroves in the FZ region, namely Bruguiera, Ceriops and Rhizophora. However, the Zimbabwean spp. all fall in the genus Cassipourea, most common in forests in the E Highlands.

Worldwide: 15 genera and 120 species, mainly Old World tropics.

Zimbabwe: 1 genus and 4 taxa.

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

Genus	Content
Cassipourea Aubl.	Description, Image

Other sources of information about Rhizophoraceae:

Our websites:

Flora of Burundi: Rhizophoraceae
Flora of the DRC: Rhizophoraceae
Flora of Malawi: Rhizophoraceae
Flora of Mozambique: Rhizophoraceae
Flora of Rwanda: Rhizophoraceae
Flora of Zambia: Rhizophoraceae

External websites:

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