A Study of the Floral Morphology of Alectryon Excelsum Gaertn. (Sapindaceae)

Abstract

Taxonomy and History. Sapindaceae is a large and important tropical and subtropical family. It embraces about 100 genera* and some 1,600 species (Porter, 1967). The genus Alectryon Gaertn (1778) includes about 30 species ranging from the Phillipines through New Guinea and New Caledonia to Australia, New Zealand and Polynesia as far as Hawaii (Carlquist, 1966; Melville, 1969).