Meliaceae

Meliaceae

[‚mel·ē′ās·ē‚ē]

(botany)

A family of dicotyledonous plants in the order Sapindales characterized by mostly exstipulate, alternate leaves, stamens mostly connate by their filaments, and syncarpous flowers.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Meliaceae

 

(mahogany) a family of dicotyledonous plants, including trees, shrubs, and, less frequently, subshrubs and grasses. The leaves are exstipulate and usually pinnate. The flowers are small and in axillary inflorescences. There are four or five sepals and the same number of petals. In most species the stamens have fused into a tube. The fruit is a capsule, berry, or drupe. There are approximately 50 genera, with 1,400 species, distributed primarily in the tropics. In the USSR one species of Cedrela and several species of Melia are cultivated. A number of species, such as mahogany, West Indian sandalwood, and yellowwood, yield valuable lumber, which is distinctively colored and fragrant. Several species yield essential oil (Cedrela and others), edible fruits (Lansium domesticum var. domestica, Lansium d. var. pubescens, and Sandoricum indicum), or alkaloids (carapine, naregamine, and others).

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.