Abstract
The Meliaceae are a flowering plant family of mostly trees and shrubs (with few herbaceous plants and mangroves) in the order Sapindales. Meliaceae comprise 50 genera and over 1400 species, including the largest tree in Africa (Entandrophragma excelsum Sprague), which is about 81.5 m high on Mt Kilimanjaro. They are widely distributed worldwide, occurring in a variety of tropical and subtropical habitats, including rain forest, freshwater swamp forest, mangrove swamps, montane forests, woodland, open savanna and semi-deserts. Some species are invasive weeds and common in secondary vegetation. Their leaves are mostly alternate, compound, pinnate and without stipules. Flowers are syncarpous, bisexual and borne in spikes, clusters, panicles or cymes. The plants are either deciduous or evergreen. The Meliaceae are made up of four subfamilies, with two large subfamilies, Melioideae (seven tribes, 34–36 genera) and Swietenioideae (three tribes, 13 genera) (Pennington and Styles, 1975). Members of Swietenioideae (now often referred to as Cedreloideae) form a distinct group in terms of morphological and anatomical characters, hence, it was suggested that the group should be raised to family level, as Swieteniaceae (Kribs, 1930). Members of Melioideae were defined by palynological, anatomical and morphological characters (Pennington and Styles, 1975; Muellner et al., 2008). Of all South African indigenous species of Meliaceae, only Entandrophragma caudatum (Sprague) Sprague belongs to Swietenioideae (Cedreloideae), while others belong to Melioideae. Members of the Meliaceae in South Africa are classified into 11 genera (seven indigenous and four naturalized), with a total of 13 indigenous and four naturalized species. The family is well known for its high-quality, soft and easy to work timbers and for the ease with which they can be grown in plantations, hence they are highly sought after in the world. Other uses include horticulture, food, furniture, magical (ritual) purposes, and important medicinal uses...
Ph.D. (Botany)