The document summarizes the characteristics of the plant family Nyctaginaceae. Key features include flowers that open in the late afternoon and are usually surrounded by brightly colored bracts. Common plants in the family include Mirabilis jalapa, Boerhaavia diffusa, and Bougainvillea species. Plants range from herbs to shrubs and some climb. Flowers are perfect or imperfect, with 4-5 petal-like tepals. The fruit is a dry, one-seeded achene surrounded by persistent perianth lobes. Some species have medicinal uses while others are grown ornamentally. Nyctaginaceae is closely related to Polygonaceae but can be distinguished by its fruit enclosed

1. Vimal priya
subramanian
2nd msc botany
18mbo027
PSGR.KRISHNAMMAL
Taxonomy
Nyctaginaceae

2. Characters of Nyctaginaceae:
Flowers open in late afternoon;
flowers mostly actinomorphic,
usually subtended by an involucre
of separate or united brightly
coloured bracts or sepaloid bracts
that are often mistaken for sepals;
petaloid perianth, tepals 5;
stamens 1- ∝; carpel one.

4. COMMON PLANTS OF THE
FAMILY
 Common plants of the family:
 1. Mirabilis jalapa – Four O’clock plant H. Gul-e-
bas – ornamental plant.
 2. Boerhaavia diffusa – Common weed after rainy
season, medicinal.
 3. Bougainvillea glabra, B. spectabilis ornamental
with magneta bract.
 4. Oxybaphus – Greek oxybaphus – a saucer.
 5. Pisonia aculeata – a large climber, armed with
recurved axillary spines.

5. Vegetative characters
Habit:
 Herb, shrub or scandent or trees.
Root:
 Tap root, branched.
Stem:
 Herbaceous or woody, erect or even climbing e.g.
Bougainvillea.
Leaf:
 Alternate or opposite, simple, those of each pair being
often very unequal, exstipulate.

6. Pisonia alba

7. B. Floral characters
Inflorescence:
 Cymose, biparous with a tendency to monochasial development in
the higher branches.
Flower:
Perfect or diclinous as in Pisonia by suppression of stamens or
pistil, hypogynous, actinomorphic, rarely zygomorphic in
Anisomeris usually subtended by an involucre of 3 to 5 separate or
united brightly coloured bracts that are often mistaken for sepals.
 In Mirabilis, each flower is surrounded at the base by an involucre of
five sepal-like bracts; in Bougainvillea, there are three involucral
bracts each subtending a flower, in Boerhaavia and others, the
involucral leaves are reduced to teeth or scales.

8. Pisonia flower

9. Mirabilis jalapa

10. perianth
 Tepals 4-5, gamophyllous, tubular with wide spreading
lobes, often petaloid (infundibuliform) imbricate or
twisted, contorted, connate in a funnel shaped or
tubular perigone, the base of which persists and
enclosing the fruit forming the so called anthrocarp.

11. Boerhavia difusa
A-Habit
B-flower
C-Anthrocarp

12.  Androecium:
 Stamens variable 2 to 20, free, usually 5 to 8
or equal to number of petals but there may be
fewer or more; filaments of unequal lengths.
 Gynoecium:
 One carpel, superior, unilocular with a single
basal ovule; style long, simple.

14.  Fruit:
 Dry, one-seeded anthocarp (achene surrounded by
persistent perianth lobes) indehiscent.
 Seed:
 Small, non-endospermic.
 Pollination:
 Entomophilous.

15. Mirabilis jalapa

16. Herbarium of Boerhavia diffusa

17. Herbarium of Bougainvillea
glabra

18. Economic Importance of
Nyctaginaceae
 1. Medicinal:
 Boerhaavia diffusa’s root is laxative and also used in
asthma, anemia, jaundice. It is an antidote to snake
venom, B. repens is diuretic. The roots of Mirabilis jalapa
are purgative. The leaves lessen inflammation and are
applied to boils.
 2. Ornamental:
 Mirabilis jalapa, Bougainvillea, Abronia. Pisonia aculeata
is a hedge plant.

19. Affinities of nyctanginaceae
 The family is closely allied to Polygonaceae.
Bentham and Hooker placed it together with
Amaranthaceae, Chenopodiaceae.
Nyctaginaceae can be distinguished from
Polygonaceae by the nature of its fruit enclosed
in the persistent base of the perianth.

20. Thanking you