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Common name: Coriaria Family.
Number of genera 1. Number of species 5.
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule an intact or entire fruit, or an incomplete fruit with epicarp and mesocarp absent and endocarp exposed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels united. Fruit anthocarp; multiple; diclesetum (Spjut Fig. 25A-B & 2 families: Cabombaceae & Coriariaceae); without persistent central column; within accessory organ(s); within petals (subtended by one-half of adjoining fleshy petal), or cupule; persistent; 1-seeded (per achene), or 10 to less than 25-seeded (per diclesetum); 1-seeded (-12); 1(–12)-carpellate (in single whorl & distinct or united at base); with carpels separate, or united (only at base); without sterile carpels; apex not beaked; indehiscent. Epicarp durable; glabrous (without hairs); without armature; smooth; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp present, or absent; and endocarp not sharply differentiated. Endocarp present; not separating from exocarp; thin; not splitting into 1-seeded pyrenes; smooth; 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 absent. Seed larger than minute; in transection more or less compressed; not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s); at maturity with food reserves, or without apparent food reserves; with endosperm; without canavanine. Sarcotesta absent. Testa present; without fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; loose, or tight; 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; glabrous; without wings; without collar; without operculum; colored; monochrome; brown (all shades) and red; membranous; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding embryo, or surrounding food reserve. Raphe conspicuous; texture as testa. Endosperm development nuclear; scant; 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; completely filling testa (no food reserve), or nearly filling testa (trace or scanty food reserve); 1 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric; foliate; with investing cotyledons; straight; parallel to seed length; with cotyledons abruptly connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; with cotyledons containing oils; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; well developed; not divaricate; 0.8 times length of embryo; somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle; 3 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; not concealing hypocotyl-radicle; not foliaceous; thick; flat; smooth; with apices entire; with margins separate; basally entire; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle moderately developed; straight; not thickened.
Distribution
New World, Old World. Middle America, South America, Europe, Asia Major (?? to Himalayas and Japan), Asia Minor (?), southeastern Asia, Australia, Oceania (?? to New Zealand).
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Coriaria L.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 136.
General references
Baillon, H.E. 1866–95. Histoire des plantes, 13 vols. Hachette and Co., Paris, 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, 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
Acceptable fruit and no seed illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or fruit incomplete, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): Baillon, LeMaout & Decaisne, Spjut, Cronquist, Engler & Prantl. Fruit illustration(s): Cronquist, Karen. Seed illustration(s): Karen, Baillon, LeMaout & Decaisne, Engler & Prantl. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 036: Coriaria myrtifolia L.
• Seed. 1 of 2. Coriaria myrtifolia L.: seeds. • Embryo. 2 of 2. Coriaria myrtifolia 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’.
