Placentation

  • Title

    Placentation

  • Definition

    In broadest terms, the arrangement of ovules within the ovary. The most basic type of placentation classifies species as having parietal, axile, or free-central placentation.

  • Notes

    Neotropical Lecythidaceae are considered to have parietal placentation. In all cases, the septa are close together or fused in the center, at least in the lower part of the ovary. In some cases, an apical section suggests that the sectioned ovary is not axile because the septa are not joined at their apices, but a more basal cross section through the placentae always supports classifying the placentation of Lecythidaceae as axile.

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