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Synonyms: Galacaceae D. Don
Common name: Diapensia Family.
Number of genera 5. Number of species 13.
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 pericarpium; simple; capsule; loculicidal capsule (also Spjut & see Notes for the reason denticidal capsule is not scored); capsule not inflated; capsule without operculum; without persistent central column; not within accessory organ(s); many-seeded (assumed); many; 3-carpellate; with carpels united; with carpels remaining united at maturity; without sterile carpels; apex not beaked; wall membranaceous (based on "thin"); indehiscent, or dehiscent. Dehiscent unit seed(s). Dehiscent actively; and shedding seeds; without replum. Epicarp durable; glabrous (without hairs); without armature; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp absent. 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, or larger than minute; straight; 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 markedly different marginal tissue; without fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; tight, or loose; surface unsmooth; surface with depressed features, or merged raised features; surface alveolate; surface 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, or with wing(s); 2-winged; with wings at both ends; with wing(s) solid; with solid wing(s) similar to testa; without collar; without operculum; colored; monochrome; membranous; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Endosperm copious; fleshy; opaque (assumed); 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); chamber central to wings; 0.5 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric; linear; straight, or C-shaped (slightly); parallel to seed length, or oblique to seed length; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; moderately developed; 0.3–0.4 times length of embryo; as wide as hypocotyl-radicle; 1 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; not foliaceous; 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. North America, Europe, Asia Major (south to Himalayas).
Notes
Spjut incorrectly noted "denticidal" capsule citing Cronquist's Shortia galacifolia, illus. 4–42f". This illustration clearly does not support Spjut's definition of "denticidal" as dehisces is no more than one fifth the length of the capsule.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Berneuxia Decne. -- Diapensia L. -- Galax Sims, nom. cons. -- Pyxidanthera Michx. -- Shortia Torr. & A. Gray, nom. cons.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 488.
General references
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
Poor fruit and seed illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): Cronquist, LeMaout & Decaisne. Seed illustration(s): Cronquist. Embryo illustration(s): LeMaout & Decaisne.
• Fruit. 1 of 4. Pyxidanthera barbulata Michx.: fruits. • Seed. 2 of 4. Pyxidanthera barbulata Michx.: seeds. • Seed. 3 of 4. Pyxidanthera barbulata Michx.: seeds. • Embryo. 4 of 4. Galax urceolata (Poir.) Brummitt: 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’.
