Datiscaceae

Datiscaceae 

a family of dicotyledonous plants.

The flowers of Datiscaceae are small, regular, unisexual or bisexual, apetalous or petaled, and racemiform, with an interior gynaecium and capsular fruit. There are three genera, comprising four or five species. The genera Octomeles (with one or two species) and Tetrameles (one species) are sometimes isolated as constituting the family Tetramelaceae. The genus Datisca is represented by two species of perennial herbs. D. cannabina grows wild from the western Mediterranean to the Himalayas; in the USSR it is found in Transcaucasia and Middle Asia. In Eastern countries it is regarded as a medicinal plant and the young shoots are used as food. A yellow dye is obtained from the plant.

REFERENCES

Gorshkova, S. G. “Datiskovye.” In Flora SSSR. vol. 15. Moscow-Leningrad, 1949.
Hutchinson, J. The Genera of Flowering Plants, vol. 2. Oxford, 1967.