Lecythidaceae

Diagnosis: Flowers large; stamens arising from apex of elevated, staminal tube, the anthers with apical dehiscence; fruits indehiscent; embryo with plano-convex, fleshy cotyledons.

Leaves: Leaves spirally arranged, clustered at ends of slender (<5 mm diam.) or robust (>5 mm diam.) twigs; venation eucamptodromous toward base, brochidodromous toward apex, the tertiary veins weakly percurrent in some species, reticulate in other species.

Stipules: Stipules absent, at least in adult trees.

Exudate: Exudate absent.

Flowers: Flowers actinomorphic, 5-15 cm diameter,; calyx not enclosed in bud, entire or with 4-6 calyx lobes; petals 6-8 (-18); androecium without hood , the stamens > 500, arising from rim of staminal tube, the anthers 2-2.5 mm long, with poricidal dehiscence; ovary 4-6-locular, the style erect, usually poorly developed and nearly absent.

Fruit: Fruits indehiscent, usually globose.

Seeds: Seeds round or angular in cross section, not embedded in pulp, without wing, aril, or sarcotesta, the testa glabrous, the funicle contorted and yellow or straight and white.; embryo with plano-convex, fleshy cotyledons.

Distribution: Aprox. 40 spp. Costa Rica, Panama Rica, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana, Ecuador, Perú, Bolivia, and Brasil.