Rhipogonaceae
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 Rhipogonaceae distribution map
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Rhipogonum see text for species |
Rhipogonaceae (sometimes Ripogonaceae) is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants. The family is confined to eastern Australia, New Zealand, and New Guinea. Rhipogonaceae is composed entirely of woody vines in the genus Rhipogonum (sometimes Ripogonum). Until recently this family was included in Smilacaceae, and its separation has been a matter of some debate. However, both the APG system and APG II system do recognize such a family and place it in the order Liliales, and the clade monocots. It differs from the closely related Smilacaceae only in that Rhipogonaceae is a twining vine that lacks tendrils, its seeds contain starch, the flowers are hermaphroditic, and the five sided anthers are longer than the filaments.
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[edit] Uses
Some species of this family are used for constructing baskets, ropes, and fish traps by indigenous peoples. In Australia and New Zealand, Rhipogonum berries are known foods for some species of mammals and birds.
Supple Jack (R. scandens) has a fiberous root that is rich in starch and used as a beer flavoring. The small berry is dry and insipid but can be eaten. The cooked young shoots reportedly taste like fresh green beans. The sap is also edible.
[edit] Species
It consists of only one genus, Rhipogonum containing only six species. A complete species list with distributions is given below.
- R. album R. Br. -- (distributed in Australia & New Guinea)
- R. brevifolium Conran & Cliff. -- (distributed in Australia)
- R. dicolor F. Muell. -- (distributed in Australia)
- R. elseyanum F. Muell. -- (distributed in Australia)
- R. fawcettianum F. Muell. Ex Benth. -- (distributed in Australia)
- R. scandens J.R. & G. Forest. -- (distributed in New Zealand)
[edit] Spelling
The name is based on the generic name and there is no close agreement on how this is spelled:
- Much of the literature uses the spelling Ripogonum for the generic name, with Ripogonaceae as the spelling of the family name. That spelling is used by the APG system of 1998 and by the site by Watson & Dallwitz.
- The spelling Rhipogonum is listed on the website kept by prof Reveal as the correct spelling for the generic name, with the family name spelled as Rhipogonaceae. The APG II system (with Reveal as a co-publishing author) uses this spelling.
[edit] External links
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- Ripogonaceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval. Version: 9th March 2006. http://delta-intkey.com
- NCBI Taxonomy Browser
- Plants for a Future Database: description of uses of Ripogonum
