Androecial hood

  • Title

    Androecial hood

  • Definition

    In zygomorphic-flowered Lecythidaceae with ligules, the distal part of the ligule that has become modified either by the outgrowth of appendices (= staminodes, vestigial stamens, or nectar-producing vestigial stamens), by an abrupt change in direction of the ligule, or by both. Androecial hoods are usuallly separated from the staminal ring by an appendage-free part of the ligule (the only known exception is and perhaps a few species of the Lecythis sec. Pisonis group. Androecial hoods of Lecythidaceae vary according to their degree of structural complexity and the type of androecial appendages they possess.

  • Notes

    See definitions and illustrations for the different types androecial hoods by searching for Androecial hood or find them in the list of terms. We do not consider the obliquely zygomorphic flowers of species of Cariniana to have androecial hoods because ligules do not arise from a staminal ring but instead arise from a staminal tube. In addition, there is no clear demarcation between the staminal tube extension and the staminal tube; but instead the stamens are found all over the inside of the tube and the staminal tube extension.

  • Related Terms

    Androecium (pl. = androecia)

    Ligule

    Posterior hood extension

    Anterior hood extension

  • *For more educational content, please visit The Hand Lens and explore our herbarium collections and the stories they tell.