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Synonyms: Agialidaceae Tiegh., nom. inval.
Common name: Torchwood Family.
Number of genera 1. Number of species 25 (for species, but not Mabberley 1987).
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule an intact or entire fruit.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels united. Fruit pericarpium; simple; drupe (most authors, but not Spjut), or nuculanium (Balanites & listed under Zygophyllaceae); without persistent central column; not within accessory organ(s); 1-seeded; from 1–5 cm long; 2.5–5 cm long; 5-carpellate; without sterile carpels; apex not beaked; indehiscent. Epicarp orange, or yellow (both with red), or green (stripes turning yellow or pink); durable; crustaceous; glabrous (without hairs); without armature; smooth; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp present; thin, or fleshy; composed of 1 unified layer; without lactiform cavity system. Endocarp present; not separating from exocarp; bony, or woody; not splitting into 1-seeded pyrenes; not smooth; with ribs; without wing; without operculum; without secretory cavities; without mechanism for seedling escape; 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; 10 to less than 25 mm long; 15 mm long (at least); not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s); at maturity without food reserves, or without apparent food reserves, or 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 rugose; 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; yellow; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted. Endosperm development nuclear.
Embryo differentiated from food reserve; well developed; 1 per seed; partially filling testa (with food reserve); at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric; foliate; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; well developed (green); somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle; thick; flat; sculptured, or corrugate, or 2-lobed; with apices lobed; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle well developed; not thickened.
Distribution
Old World. Africa, southeastern Asia, Australia, Oceania.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Balanites Delile, nom. cons.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 820 (Cronquist & Mabberley have in Zygophyllaceae). Palmer, E. & N. Pitman. 1972a. Trees of southern Africa, vol. 2. A. A. Balkema, Cape Town; Wyk, B. van & P. van Wyk. 1997. Field guide to trees of southern Africa. Struik, Cape Town; Dale, I.R. & P.J. Greenway. 1961. Kenya trees & shrubs, 654 pp. Buchanan's Kenya Estates, Nairobi.
General references
Corner, E.J.H. 1976. The seeds of Dicots, esp. vol. 2. Cambridge University Press, New York, Engler, A. and K. Prantl. 1924 and onward. Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilimien. W. Engelman, Leipzig, 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, Mabberley, D.J. 1987. The plant-book, 706 p. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, Spjut, R.W. 1994. A systematic treatment of fruit types. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 70:1–182, Wight, R. 1840–1853. Icones plantarum Indiae orientalis, 6 vols. J.B. Pharoah, Madras.
Illustrations
Poor fruit sketches, no seed. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): Palmer & Pitman (1972), Wyk & Wyk (1997) [photos], Dale & Greenway (1961), Wight. Embryo illustration(s): Engler & Prantl.
• Seed. 1 of 5. Balanites aegyptiacus (L.) Delile: seed. • Fruit. 2 of 5. Balanites maughamii Sprague: fruit with exocarp removed. • Fruit. 3 of 5. Balanites maughamii Sprague: fruit. • Fruit. 4 of 5. Balanites maughamii Sprague: interior of fruit. • Embryo. 5 of 5. Balanites aegyptiacus (L.) Delile: 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’.
