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Synonyms: Sambucaceae Batsch ex Borkh.; Viburnaceae Raf.
Common name: Moschatel Family.
Number of genera 5. Number of species 175 (5 genera added from M).
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule an incomplete fruit with epicarp and mesocarp absent and endocarp exposed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) 1; 1-pistillate. Fruit pericarpium; simple; Spjut Fig. 27A-B & for Sambuscus & Viburnum drupe, or nuculanium (Spjut's fruit type for Adoxaceae s.s.: Adoxa, Sinadoxa, Teradoxa); without persistent central column; not within accessory organ(s); 1-seeded (to many seeds for Sinadoxa); 1-seeded (to many seeds for Sinadoxa); (2–)3–5-carpellate (most often 5-carpellate in lateral flowers and 4-carpellate in central flowers); with carpels united; with carpels remaining united at maturity; with carpels remaining connected at style; without sterile carpels; not sulcate; apex not beaked; indehiscent. Epicarp durable; without armature; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp present, or absent; fleshy; composed of 1 unified layer; without lactiform cavity system. Endocarp present; not separating from exocarp; bony; splitting into 1-seeded pyrenes; without operculum; without secretory cavities; with grooves, or without grooves; 2–3-grooved; without longitudinal ridges. Funiculus short; short without seed bearing hooks (retinacula); not persisting in fruit after seed shed.
Seeds
Aril absent. Seed larger than minute; not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s); at maturity with food reserves; with endosperm; without canavanine. Sarcotesta absent. Testa present; without fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; surface unsmooth; surface with merged raised features; surface reticulate; without crease or line separating cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle; without notch along margin where cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle tip approach each other; without glands; without bristles; pubescent; without glandular pubescence; without wings; without collar; without operculum; colored; monochrome; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Endosperm development cellular; copious; hard; smooth; with oils; without fatty acid containing cyclopropene; without apical lobes; without chlorophyll; without isodiametric faceted surface; without odor.
Embryo differentiated from food reserve; well developed (Martin), or rudimentary (Corner); 1 per seed; partially filling testa (with food reserve); 0.075–0.9 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric (Martin); linear (Martin), or miniature (Goldberg); straight; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; 0.3–0.5 times length of embryo; as wide as hypocotyl-radicle; conduplicate to hypocotyl-radicle; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle moderately developed, or well developed; straight; not thickened.
Distribution
Circumboreal, pantemperate, and pansubtropical. New World, Old World. North America, Middle America, Europe, Asia Major.
Notes
As now defined with the addition of Viburnum and Sambuscus, this family parameter exceeds all references. Excluding the two aforementioned genera, Baillon vol. 7, page 362 recorded: "ovary semi-inferior". Why did Spjut label the fruit in the family without Viburnum & Sambuscus as a nuculanium?.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
ASOA listed seeds, ISTA listed seeds.
ASOA listed seeds: -- Sambucus canadensis L. -- Sambucus cerulea Raf. -- Sambucus pubens Michx. = Sambucus racemosa subsp. pubens (Michx.) House -- Sambucus racemosa subsp. pubens (Michx.) House -- Viburnum edule (Michx.) Raf. -- Viburnum lentago L. -- Last updated September 2008.
ISTA listed seeds: -- Viburnum opulus L.t -- Symbols: aagricultural and vegetable seeds (Table 2A Part 1); ttree and shrub species (Table 2A Part 2); fflower, spice, herb, and medicinal seeds (Table 2A Part 3); wweed seeds. -- Last updated September 2008.
Accepted genera
Adoxa L. -- Sambucus L. -- Sinadoxa C. Y. Wu et al. -- Tetradoxa C. Y. Wu -- Viburnum L., nom. cons. prop.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 1010. Backlund, A. & N. Pyck. 1998. Diervillaceae and Linnaeaceae, two new families of caprifolioids. Taxon 47(3):657–661.
General references
Baillon, H.E. 1866–95. Histoire des plantes, 13 vols. Hachette and Co., Paris, Corner, E.J.H. 1976. The seeds of Dicots, esp. vol. 2. Cambridge University Press, New York, Cronquist, A. 1981. An integrated system of classification of flowering plants, 1,262 p. Columbia University Press, New York, Engler, A. and K. Prantl. 1924 and onward. Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilimien. W. Engelman, Leipzig, Gaertner, J. 1788–1805. De fructibus et seminibus plantarum. The Author, Stuttgart, Goldberg, A. 1986 (dicots) and 1989 (monocots). Classification, evolution, and phylogeny of the familes of Dicotyledons. Smithsonian Contr. Bot. 58 for dicots (314 pp.) and 71 for monocots (74 pp.). [Goldberg's illustrations are reproduced from older publications and these should be consulted], Gunn, C.R., J.H. Wiersema, C.A. Ritchie, and J.H. Kirkbride, Jr. 1992 and amendments. Families and genera of Spermatophytes recognized by the Agricultural Research Service. Techn. Bull. U.S.D.A. 1796:1–500, Spjut, R.W. 1994. A systematic treatment of fruit types. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 70:1–182, Wood, C.E., Jr. 1974. A student's atlas of flowering plants: Some dicotyledons of eastern North America, 120 pp. Harper and Row, New York.
Illustrations
Acceptable fruit and seed illustrations. Cronquist has no Adoxaceae (s.s.) illustration but does have Lonicera (from Caprifoliaceae). Disseminule illustration(s): fruit incomplete, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): Karen, Engler & Prantl, Wood, Jr. Embryo illustration(s): Martin, Engler & Prantl, Karen [only outline]. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 315: Adoxa mosechetellina L. (A-B).
• Fruit and seed. 1 of 4. Adoxa moschatellina L.: dehisced fruits and seeds. • Seed. 2 of 4. Adoxa moschatellina L.: seeds. • Seed. 3 of 4. Sambucus racemosa L.: seeds. • Embryo. 4 of 4. Adoxa moschatellina L.: embryo.
We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.
Cite this publication as: ‘J.H. Kirkbride, Jr., C.R. Gunn, and M.J. Dallwitz. 2000 onwards. Family guide for fruits and seeds: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval. Version: 12th April 2021. delta-intkey.com’.
