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Synonyms: Metteniusaceae H. Karst. ex Schnizl.
Common name: Alangium Family.
Number of genera 2 (both genera combined in Mabberley 1987 and in Lozano-Contreras & Lozano 1988). Number of species 2–3.
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule an incomplete fruit with epicarp and mesocarp absent and endocarp exposed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) 1; 1-pistillate. Fruit pericarpium; simple; drupe; without persistent central column; crowned by sepals and disk; not within accessory organ(s); 1-seeded, or more than 1 but less than 10-seeded; 1–2-seeded; from 1–5 cm long (at least); 3–3.5 cm long (at least for some spp. of Metteniusa); 1–2-carpellate; with carpels united; with carpels remaining united at maturity; without sterile carpels; apex not beaked; indehiscent. Epicarp durable; without armature; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp present. Endocarp present; not separating from exocarp; crustaceous, or woody and thick, or thin and leathery (latter two: Section Alangium); splitting into 1-seeded pyrenes, or not splitting into 1-seeded pyrenes; smooth, or not smooth; with pits, or warts; without wing; without operculum; without secretory cavities; 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; 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; without wings; without collar; without operculum; colored; monochrome; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Endosperm development cellular, or nuclear; copious, or moderate; fleshy-firm, or fleshy; opaque (= white in Mettenisa); ruminate, or smooth; with hemicellulose and oils; without fatty acid containing cyclopropene; without apical lobes; without chlorophyll; without isodiametric faceted surface; without odor.
Embryo differentiated from food reserve; well developed; 1 per seed; partially filling testa (with food reserve); 0.9 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric; foliate; with spatulate cotyledons; straight; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; well developed; 0.6–0.9 times length of embryo; somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle (3–6 times wider: review Karen's drawing); foliaceous; thin; flat; smooth; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle moderately developed, or well developed; straight; not thickened.
Distribution
New World, Old World. South America, Africa, Asia Major, Asia Minor, southeastern Asia, Australia (to eastern Australia).
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Alangium Lam., nom. cons. -- Metteniusa H. Karst.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 664. Eyde, R.H. 1968. Flowers, fruits, and phylogeny of Alangiaceae. J. Arnold Arbor. 49:167–192; Lozano-Contreras, G. & N. B. de Lozano. 1988. Metteniusaceae. Monograph 11. In: P. Pinto & G. Lozano, eds., Flora de Colombia. Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá.
General references
Baillon, H.E. 1866–95. Histoire des plantes, 13 vols. Hachette and Co., Paris, Cronquist, A. 1981. An integrated system of classification of flowering plants, 1,262 p. Columbia University Press, New York, 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.
Illustrations
No seed, 1 entire fruit, but have endocarps. Cronquist has no illustration. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or fruit incomplete, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): Baillon. Fruit illustration(s): Eyde (1968), Karen. Embryo illustration(s): Karen. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 201: Alangium longiflorum Merr. (A-B), Alangium chinense (Lour.) Harms [not finalized].
• Fruit and seed. 1 of 2. Alangium longiflorum Merr.: fruit and seed. • Embryo. 2 of 2. Alangium longiflorum Merr.: 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’.
