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Synonyms: Berzeliaceae Nakai
Common name: Brunia Family.
Number of genera 12. Number of species 69.
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule a dehisced fruit, or an intact or entire fruit, or a seed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels united. Fruit anthocarp, or pericarpium; schizocarp; coccarium (Brunia paleacea P. J. Bergius); simple; cypsela (Brunonia australis Sm.), or diclesium (Berzelia abrotanoides Brongn.); without persistent central column; crowned by sepals (commonly by calyx or corolla & androecium); within accessory organ(s), or not within accessory organ(s); within calyx; persistent; 1-seeded (for nut), or more than 1 but less than 10-seeded (for capsule); 1–2-seeded; 2-carpellate (1–3); without sterile carpels; not sulcate; apex not beaked; indehiscent, or dehiscent. Dehiscent regularly; linearly; by ventral sutures; and shedding seeds; without replum. Epicarp durable; sub coriaceous, or thin, or thick; not glabrous (with hairs); hairs dense; hairs red, or yellow; hairs not glandular; without armature, or with armature; with lignified trichomes; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Endocarp present; separating spontaneously from exocarp; thin; not splitting into 1-seeded pyrenes; smooth; without wing; without operculum; without secretory cavities; without mechanism for seedling escape; without grooves; without longitudinal ridges. Funiculus short; short without seed bearing hooks (retinacula); not persisting in fruit after seed shed.
Seeds
Aril present, or absent; a true aril; adnate to hilum; of funicular origin; basal; does not aid in seed explusion from fruit; cupshaped. Seed larger than minute; oblong, or elliptic, or circular, or angular; 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, or smooth; surface with merged raised features; surface wrinkled; 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; crustaceous; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted. Hilum larger than punctate (hilum naked or covered with fleshy cupule). Endosperm copious; fleshy; smooth; 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); 0.1 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric and basal; linear; straight; with cotyledons gradually connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; tiny; 0.5 times length of embryo; somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle (slightly); with apices entire; with margins separate; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle moderately developed; coiled; not thickened.
Distribution
Old World. Africa (South Africa).
Weed information
1 or more USA state noxious weeds.
USA states and territories with listed noxious weeds: Florida (FL).
USA state and territory noxious weeds: -- Berzelia intermedia Schltdl.: USA state noxious weed: FL°. -- Symbols: ªaquatic weed; ●terrestrial weed; °weed in seed. -- Last updated September 2008.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Audouinia Brongn. -- Berzelia Brongn. -- Brunia Lam., nom. cons. -- Linconia L. -- Lonchostoma Wikstr., nom. cons. -- Mniothamnea (Oliv.) Nied. -- Nebelia Neck. ex Sweet -- Pseudobaeckea Nied. -- Raspalia Brongn. -- Staavia Dahl -- Thamnea Sol. ex Brongn., nom. cons. -- Tittmannia Brongn., nom. cons.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 563. Pillans, N.S. 1947. A revision of Brunia. J. S. African Bot. 13:121–206; Schnizlein, A. 1846–70. Iconographia familiarum naturalium regni vegetabilis, vol. 3, plate 168. Max Cohen & Sohn, Bonn.; Swartz, O. 1810. Die Pflanzen-Gattung Linconia. Mag. Neuesten Entdeck. Gesammten Naturk. Ges. Naturf. Freunde Berlin 4: 85–89.
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, 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, Hooker, J.D. 1873 and forward. Icones Plantarum. William & Norgate, London. (plate number cited in text within [ ]), Mabberley, D.J. 1987. The plant-book, 706 p. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, Martin, A.C. 1946. The comparative internal morphology of seeds. Amer. Midl. Naturalist 36:513–660, Spjut, R.W. 1994. A systematic treatment of fruit types. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 70:1–182.
Illustrations
Poor fruit and seed illustrations. Cronquist has no illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): Hooker [1012], Schnizlein (1856–70). Seed illustration(s): Schnizlein (1856–70). Embryo illustration(s): Schnizlein (1856–70), Engler & Prantl.
• Fruit. 1 of 3. Brunia albiflora E. Phillips: fruits. • Seed. 2 of 3. Brunia albiflora E. Phillips: seed. • Embryo. 3 of 3. Widdringtonia nodiflora (L.) Powrie: 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’.
