FLORA OF PANAMA Part V. Fascicle 1 LAURACEAE CAROLINE K. ALLEN Evergreen trees or shrubs in the Panamanian species, rarely herbs (Cassytha);leaves alternate, occasionally subverticillate, rarely opposite, entire, penninerved,triplinerved or subtriplinerved, rarely subquintuplinerved. Inflorescence axillaryor subterminal, usually paniculate. Flowers usually perfect, rarely dioecious, peri-anth 6-lobed, fertile stamens usually 9, in series of three; anthers erect, 2-or 4-celled, those of the two outer series usually introrse, those of the inner extrorse oroccasionally the third of the inner series only fertile; filaments of the inner seriesalways biglandular; staminodia, representing a fourth series, may be present orabsent. Ovary superior, 1-celled, bearing a style, usually well developed, and avariable stigma. Fruit a 1-seeded berry, subtended by a disk or cupule formed bythe enlarged perianth-tube, sometimes crowned by the remnants of the perianth-lobes, and supported by the usually enlarged pedicel. About 50 genera throughout the world, one of the heaviest areas of concen-tration being in the Malaysian region and Eastern Asia, the second focus being intropical America. A few genera only are to be found in Africa and one in Europe.Of those genera occurring in Central and South America, three are also abundantin Eastern Asia and Malaysia, namely, Beilschmiedia, Cryptocarya and Phoebe.More rare for the Lauraceae is the distribution noted in the genera Lindera andSassafras, where a single rather widespread species of each occurs in the UnitedStates, the remaining species of Sassafras occurring in Eastern Asia, and of Linderain Eastern Asia and Malaysia. Litsea and Persea occur in the United States, alongthe Atlantic Coast, and from upper Mexico into South America. The following is based on the publication by the author, 'Studies in theLauraceae, VI, Preliminary Survey of the Mexican and Central American Species'(Jour. Arnold Arb. 26:280-434. 1945), where a more complete synonymy isavailable. In the present treatment of the family fairly broad descriptions of thegenera are given unless otherwise indicated. Data on the commercial uses of thewoods are obtained from field notes and in some cases from 'Timbers of the NewWorld,' by Record & Hess.Issued March 22, 1948.(1)
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