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Synonyms: Roridulaceae Martinov, nom. cons.
Common name: Byblis Family.
Number of genera 2. Number of species 4.
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule a dehisced fruit, or a seed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels united. Fruit pericarpium; simple; capsule; loculicidal capsule; capsule not inflated; capsule without operculum; without persistent central column; not within accessory organ(s); 1-seeded, or many-seeded; 1-seeded (-many); 2–4-carpellate (Byblis), or 3-carpellate (Roridula); with carpels united; with carpels remaining united at maturity; without sterile carpels; apex not beaked; dehiscent. Dehiscent unit seed(s). Dehiscent regularly; and shedding seeds; without replum. Epicarp durable; without armature; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Endocarp present; not separating from exocarp; thin; not splitting into 1-seeded pyrenes; smooth; 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; 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; loose, or tight (Byblis); surface unsmooth; surface with discreet raised features, or merged raised features; surface verrucose; surface corrugate, or 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; without wings; without collar; without operculum; colored; monochrome; crustaceous; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Endosperm development cellular (at least for Byblis); copious; fleshy; smooth; without fatty acid containing cyclopropene; without apical lobes; without chlorophyll; without isodiametric faceted surface; without odor.
Embryo differentiated from food reserve (Roridula), or undifferentiated from food reserve (Byblis); well developed, or rudimentary; 1 per seed; partially filling testa (with food reserve); 0.2 times the length of food reserve (Byblis), or 0.4–0.6 times the length of food reserve (Roridula); at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric; foliate; with investing cotyledons (very slightly in Roridula); straight, or bent; with cotyledons gradually connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; Byblis with 2 or more cotyledons, or acotyledonous (Roridula). Cotyledons 2; scarcely differentiated (Roridula), or well developed (Byblis); 0.2–0.4 times length of embryo (Roridula only); as wide as hypocotyl-radicle, or somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle; with margins separate; basally entire; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle undeveloped (Byblis), or vestigial (Roridula); straight; not thickened.
Distribution
Old World. Africa (Roridula), Australia (Byblis).
Notes
Some authors have Roridula in its own family.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Byblis Salisb. -- Roridula Burm. f. ex L.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 554.
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, 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, 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.
Illustrations
No fruit and excellent seed illustrations. Cronquist has no illustration. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Seed illustration(s): Karen. Embryo illustration(s): Karen. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 163: Byblis gigantea Lindl. (A-B).
• Fruit. 1 of 4. Roridula dentata L.: dehisced fruit with calyx. • Seed. 2 of 4. Roridula dentata L.: seed. • Embryo. 3 of 4. Byblis gigantea Lindl.: embryo. • Embryo. 4 of 4. Roridula dentata 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’.
