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Synonyms: Boopidaceae Cass.
Common name: Calycera Family.
Number of genera 6. Number of species 55.
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule an intact or entire fruit.
Fruits
Pistil(s) 1; 1-pistillate. Fruit anthocarp; simple, or compound; diclesium; catoclesium; without persistent central column; crowned by sepals, or perianth (could be calyx or perianth depending on author); not within accessory organ(s); 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. 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; angular, or circular, or irregular; in transection compressed, or terete; 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, or absent; adnate to epicarp (hardly separable from pericarp); without embryo surrounded and capped by viscid tissue; without fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; surface smooth (assumed); 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. Raphe conspicuous (longitudinal). Endosperm development cellular; copious to scant; fleshy; smooth; with 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); 0.75–0.9 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric; linear; straight; with cotyledons gradually connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; well developed; 0.25–0.3 times length of embryo; as wide as hypocotyl-radicle; smooth; with apices entire; with margins separate; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle well developed; not thickened.
Distribution
New World. Middle America, South America.
Notes
Fruit often labelled an achene or a nut.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Acicarpha Juss. -- Boopis Juss. -- Calycera Cav., nom. cons. -- Gamocarpha DC. -- Moschopsis Phil. -- Nastanthus Miers
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 1017.
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, Engler, A. 1900–1953. Das Pflanzenreich, nos. 1–107. Facsimile edition. Engelmann-Cramer, Weinheim, 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, LeMaout, E. and J. Decaisne. 1876. A general system of botany, 1,065 p. Longmans, Green, and Co., London, Spjut, R.W. 1994. A systematic treatment of fruit types. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 70:1–182.
Illustrations
Poor fruit and acceptable seed illustrations. Cronquist has no illustration. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): LeMaout & Decaisne, Engler & Prantl, Baillon. Seed illustration(s): Karen. Embryo illustration(s): Karen, Engler & Prantl, Baillon. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 318: Acicarpha spathulata R. Br. (A-C), Boopis bupleuroides C.A. Muell. (D-F), Calycera calcitrapa Griseb. (G-I).
• Fruit. 1 of 6. Calycera calcitrapa Griseb.: fruiting head. • Fruit. 2 of 6. Calycera calcitrapa Griseb.: fruit. • Seed. 3 of 6. Calycera calcitrapa Griseb.: seed. • Embryo. 4 of 6. Acicarpha spathulata R. Br.: embryo. • Embryo. 5 of 6. Boopis bupleuroides (Leasing) C.A. Mueller: embryo. • Embryo. 6 of 6. Calycera calcitrapa Griseb.: 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’.
