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Synonyms: Botryodendraceae J. Agardh; Myodocarpaceae Doweld
Common name: Ginseng Family.
Number of genera 48. Number of species 800.
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule an intact or entire fruit, or an incomplete fruit with epicarp and mesocarp absent and endocarp exposed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound, or simple; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels united. Fruit pericarpium; simple, or schizocarp; berry, or drupe (Delarbrea); baccarium (not Spjut, but Cronquist & Goldberg: Myodocarpus & Harmsiopanax schizocarp with carpophore as in Apiaceae); berry indehiscent; berry without central placental mass; without persistent central column, or with persistent central column; not within accessory organ(s); 1-seeded to many-seeded; 1-seeded (to many); 5-carpellate; with carpels united; with carpels remaining united at maturity; without sterile carpels; not sulcate; apex not beaked; wall fleshy (assumed); indehiscent. Epicarp durable; without armature; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp present, or absent; thin, or fleshy; composed of 1 unified layer; without lactiform cavity system. Endocarp absent, or present; thick, or chartaceous; smooth, or not smooth; with ribs, or wrinkles; 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; with markedly different marginal tissue, or without markedly different marginal tissue; without fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; surface unsmooth; surface with merged raised features; surface reticulate, or roughened, or rugose, or wrinkled; without crease or line separating cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle; without notch along margin where cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle tip approach each other, or with notch along margin where cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle tip approaching each other; without glands; without bristles; without wings; without collar; without operculum; colored; monochrome; crustaceous; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Endosperm development nuclear; copious; fleshy-firm; smooth, or ruminate (sometimes); with oils (with large amounts of petroselenic acid); without fatty acid containing cyclopropene; with petroselenic acid (large amounts); without apical lobes; without chlorophyll; without isodiametric faceted surface; without odor.
Embryo differentiated from food reserve, or undifferentiated from food reserve; well developed; 1 per seed; partially filling testa (with food reserve); 0.06–0.7 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric; linear; parallel to seed length; embedded in endosperm; with cotyledons gradually connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons, or acotyledonous. Cotyledons 2; tiny; 0.3–0.4 times length of embryo; somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle; 3 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; massive; smooth; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle well developed; straight; not thickened.
Distribution
Pantropical, pansubtropical, and pantemperate. New World, Old World. North America, Middle America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia Major, Asia Minor, southeastern Asia, Australia, Oceania.
Notes
Testa occasionally margined. Tripartite: Aralieae, Mackinlayeae with Mackinlayea, and Schefflereae. Meryta berries concrescent into heads. Fruits occasionally with oily vesicles. Fruit of Stilbocarpus is a drupe with a carpophore.
Weed information
1 or more USA state noxious weeds.
USA states and territories with listed noxious weeds: Oregon (OR), Puerto Rico (PR).
USA state and territory noxious weeds: -- Hedera helix L.: USA state noxious weed: OR●. -- Hydrocotyle spp.: USA state noxious weed: PR●. -- Hydrocotyle umbellata L.: USA state noxious weed: PR●. -- Symbols: ªaquatic weed; ●terrestrial weed; °weed in seed. -- Last updated September 2008.
Listed seeds
ASOA listed seeds, ISTA listed seeds.
ASOA listed seeds: -- Aralia cordata Thunb. -- Echinopanax horridus (Sm.) Decne. & Planch. ex Harms = Oplopanax horridus (Sm.) Miq. -- Oplopanax horridus (Sm.) Miq. -- Last updated September 2008.
ISTA listed seeds: -- Aralia japonica Thunb. = Fatsia japonica (Thunb.) Decne. & Planch. -- Brassaia actinophylla Endl. = Schefflera actinophylla (Endl.) Harms -- Aralia chinensis L. -- Dizygotheca elegantissima (hort. Veitch ex Mast.) R. Vig. & Guillaumin = Schefflera elegantissima (Veitch) Lowry & Frodinf -- Fatsia japonica (Thunb.) Decne. & Planch.f -- Kalopanax pictus Nakai = Kalopanax septemlobus (Thunb.) Koidz. -- Kalopanax septemlobus (Thunb.) Koidz. -- Schefflera actinophylla (Endl.) Harmsw -- Schefflera arboricola (Hayata) Merr. -- Schefflera elegantissima (hort. Veitch ex Mast.) Lowry & Frodinf-- 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
Anakasia Philipson -- Apiopetalum Baill. -- Aralia L. -- Arthrophyllum Blume -- Astrotricha DC. -- Boninofatsia Nakai -- Brassaiopsis Decne. & Planch. -- Cephalaralia Harms -- Cheirodendron Nutt. ex Seem. -- Cromapanax Grierson -- Cuphocarpus Decne. & Planch. -- Cussonia Thunb. -- Delarbrea Vieill. -- Dendropanax Decne. & Planch. -- Eleutherococcus Maxim. -- Fatsia Decne. & Planch. -- Gamblea C. B. Clarke -- Gastonia Comm. ex Lam. -- Grushvitzkya Skvortsova & Aver. -- Harmsiopanax Warb. -- Hedera L. -- Heteropanax Seem. -- Hunaniopanax C. J. Qi & T. R. Cao -- Kalopanax Miq. -- Mackinlaya F. Muell. -- Macropanax Miq. -- Megalopanax Ekman -- Merrilliopanax H. W. Li -- Meryta J. R. Forst. & G. Forst. -- Metapanax Frodin ex J. Wen & Frodin -- Motherwellia F. Muell. -- Munroidendron Sherff -- Myodocarpus Brongn. & Gris -- Oplopanax (Torr. & A. Gray) Miq. -- Oreopanax Decne. & Planch. -- Osmoxylon Miq. -- Panax L. -- Polyscias J. R. Forst. & G. Forst. -- Pseudopanax K. Koch -- Pseudosciadium Baill. -- Raukaua Seem. -- Reynoldsia A. Gray -- Schefflera J. R. Forst. & G. Forst., nom. cons. -- Sciadodendron Griseb. -- Seemannaralia R. Vig. -- Sinopanax H. L. Li -- Stilbocarpa (Hook. f.) Decne. & Planch. -- Tetrapanax (K. Koch) K. Koch -- Tetraplasandra A. Gray -- Trevesia Vis. -- Woodburnia Prain
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 843.
General references
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, LeMaout, E. and J. Decaisne. 1876. A general system of botany, 1,065 p. Longmans, Green, and Co., London, Mabberley, D.J. 1987. The plant-book, 706 p. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, Schopmeyer, C.S. 1974. Seeds of Woody plants in the United States. Agric. Handb. 450:1–883, Spjut, R.W. 1994. A systematic treatment of fruit types. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 70:1–182.
Illustrations
Barely acceptable fruit and seed illustrations but no endocarp illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Seed illustration(s): Schopmeyer, Engler & Prantl. Embryo illustration(s): Schopmeyer, LeMaout & Decaisne.
• Fruit. 1 of 12. Hedera helix L.: fruit. • Seed. 2 of 12. Hedera helix L.: seed. • Fruit. 3 of 12. Mackinlaya confusa Hemsl.: fruits. • Seed. 4 of 12. Mackinlaya confusa Hemsl.: seed. • Fruit. 5 of 12. Panax pseudoginseng Wall.: seeds. • Fruits. 6 of 12. Panax trifolius L.: fruits. • Seed. 7 of 12. Panax trifolius L.: seeds. • Fruit. 8 of 12. Panax ginseng C. A. Mey.: fruits. • Fruit. 9 of 12. Panax quinquefolius L.: fruits. • Seed. 10 of 12. Panax quinquefolius L.: seeds. • Embryo. 11 of 12. Aralia nudicaulis L.: embryo. • Embryo. 12 of 12. Kalopanax septemlobus (Thunb.) Koidz.: 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’.
