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closedwithinahollowreceptacle.Flowersareunisexualandcanbear-
rangedineitherflattenedheads,enclosedreceptaclesorcatkins.Theonly
synapomorphywithinMoraceaeispresenceoflaticifersandmilkysapinall
parenchymatoustissues.Theunitingcharacteristhatlatexisproducedby
eachmemberofthefamilyuponwounding.Latexisreleaseduponwound-
ingasdefenseagainstherbivory.TheMoreceaearecharacterizedbysimple
inflorescences,suchasracemesorspikes,withflowerpartsinfours.Many
Moreceaehaveinflexedstamens,whicharestructurallysupportedby
pistillodes.Thestamensspringbackandejectpollenintotheairatanthesis
(Zhou&Gilbert,2003).
Flowersareunisexual(plantsmonoeciousordioecious),smalltovery
small.Calyxlobes(1or)2-4(-8),freeorconnate,imbricateorvalvate.Corolla
isabsent.Maleflowersconsistofstamensasmanyasandoppositetocalyx
lobes(exceptinArtocarpus),straightorinflexedinbud;anthersare1-or
2-loculed,crescent-shapedtotop-shaped;pistillode(rudimentarysterilepis-
til)oftenpresent.Calyxlobesinfemaleflowersareusually4withsuperior,
semi-inferior,orinferior,1(or2)-loculedovaryandoneovulesperlocule,
anatropousorcampylotropous,with1or2stylebranchesandusually
filiformstigmas.Fruitusuallyareadrupe,rarelyanachene,envelopedby
anenlargedcalyxand/orimmersedinafleshyreceptacle,oftenjoinedinto
asyncarp.Seedaresolitary;endospermpresentorabsent.Somegenerapro-
duceediblefruits,suchasthemulberry(Morus),fig(Ficuscarica),breadfruit
andjackfruit(Artocarpus),andaffon,orAfricanbreadfruit(Treculia).Others,
suchasAntiaris,Ficus,andCastilla,areimportantfortheirtimberandlatex.
Thelatexoftheupastree(Antiaristoxicaria)ofJavaisusedasanarrowpoi-
son;thelatexofthecowtree(Brosimumutile)oftropicalAmericaissweet
andnutritious.Ficus,thelargestgenusinthemulberryfamily,containsthe
banyanandtheIndiarubbertree(Rohwer,1993;Zhou&Gilbert,2003).
Moreceaeextendintotemperateregionswithsomewidelydistributed
speciessuchasMorusalbaL.andMaclurapomifera(Raf.)C.K.Schneid.The
Artocarpeae,orthebreadfruittribe,representa“cross-section”ofMoraceae
(Bergetal.,2006)asinflorescencearchitecturevariesfromsimplespikes
tocomplexgloboseheadswithnumerousinterfloralbracts,andpartialto
completefusionofperianth.TheDorstenieaearealsoquitevariablealt-
houghmostgenerahavebisexualinflorescences.Thisgroupexhibitsarange
ofgrowthhabitsincludingtrees,succulentshrubs,andherbs(Berg,2001),
andisalsoknownforhighlyvariablepollenmorphology,withthegrains
havingornateexinesculpturingandnumerouspores(Hoen&Punt,1989).
Castilleaearecharacterizedbyunisexualinvolucrateinflorescenceswithdis-
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