Clades:
Piperaceae;
Piperales;
Angiospermae; Mganoloideae;
Magnolianae;
Plants.
MacrostachoideaeGenera: 1, piper; 200–250 species.
Region: Neotropics, Central America, Northern Andes.
Botany: medium-sized shrubs to small trees.
Leaves: pinnately nerved, basally lobulate; leaf base is symmetric on the monopodial trunk and asymmetric on sympodial branches; petioles with prominent stipular margin.
Inflorescences: terminal, long, pendulous; compact, tight, flowers forming banding patterns.
Flowers 4 stamens.
Fruits: free rectangular.
TaxonomyMacrostachoideae can be divided in the Macrostachys subclade and the Hemipodium subclades.
Macrostachys subclade includes
Piper obliquum.
Hemipodium subclade is a subclass with differences to the main Macrostachys subclade. They are mostly sun loving plants, much smaller in heigh than those in Macrostachys, with erect inflorescences and three staminate flowers; leaves have strongly asymmetric leaf bases and petiolar margins extend- ing to the base of the lamina at all nodes. The Hemipodium subclade has 20 species, including
Piper arboreum.
Plant theoryMacrostachoideae is placed in
Subphase 4. It is a big clade in the Neotropical
Piperaceae of about 270 species. The clade around
Piper nigrum of the south-east asion Piperraceae is combined in Suphase 4.