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Synonyms: Tetramelaceae Airy Shaw
Common name: Datisca Family.
Number of genera 3. 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; denticidal capsule (Tetrameles); capsule not inflated; capsule without operculum; without persistent central column; with styles(s); at apex; not within accessory organ(s); many-seeded; many; 3–8-carpellate; with carpels united; without sterile carpels; in transection terete; apex beaked, or not beaked; apex short beaked; wall membranaceous; dehiscent. Dehiscent unit seed(s). Dehiscent regularly; passively; at apex; 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 grooves; without longitudinal ridges. Funiculus short; short without seed bearing hooks (retinacula); not persisting in fruit after seed shed.
Seeds
Aril absent. Seed minute to larger than minute; less than 1 mm long to 1 to less than 5 mm long; 0.75–1 mm long; straight and oblong; in transection terete; 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; loose, or tight; surface unsmooth; surface with depressed features, or merged raised features; surface punctate; surface coarsely 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; glabrous; without wings; without collar; with operculum (composed of hilum & micropyle (Boesewinkel, 1984)); colored; monochrome; brown (all shades); not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding embryo. Endosperm development nuclear; scant; 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; 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; linear; straight; with cotyledons gradually 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; 0.5 times length of embryo; as wide as hypocotyl-radicle; 1 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; not concealing hypocotyl-radicle; not foliaceous; flat; smooth; with apices entire; with margins separate; basally entire; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle well developed; not thickened.
Distribution
New World, Old World. North America (southwestern), Middle America, Asia Major (to Himalayas).
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Datisca L. -- Octomeles Miq. -- Tetrameles R. Br.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 425. Boesewinkel, F.D. 1984b. Ovule and seed structure in Datiscaceae. Acta Bot. Neerl. 33:419–429.
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, 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, LeMaout, E. and J. Decaisne. 1876. A general system of botany, 1,065 p. Longmans, Green, and Co., London, 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 seed illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): Cronquist, Baillon. Seed illustration(s): Karen, Cronquist, LeMaout & Decasine, Boesewinkel (1984), Baillon. Embryo illustration(s): Karen, LeMaout & Decaisne, Baillon. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 128: Datisca cannabina L. (A-B), Octomeles sumatranus Miq. (C-D), Tetrameles nudiflora R. Br. (E-F).
• Fruit. 1 of 5. Datisca cannabina L.: dehisced fruits. • Seed. 2 of 5. Datisca cannabina L.: seeds. • Embryo. 3 of 5. Datisca cannabina L.: embryo. • Embryo. 4 of 5. Octomeles sumatranum Miq.: embryo. • Embryo. 5 of 5. Tetrameles nudiflora R. Br.: 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’.
