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Common name: Crowberry Family.
Number of genera 3. Number of species 5 (ca).
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule an intact or entire fruit.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels united. Fruit pericarpium; simple; drupe; without persistent central column; crowned by sepals; with styles(s); at apex; not within accessory organ(s); more than 1 but less than 10-seeded; 2–9-seeded; 2–9-carpellate (2–3–6–9); with carpels united, or separate (either connate or partially separate); with carpels remaining united at maturity; without sterile carpels; apex not beaked; indehiscent. Epicarp durable; without armature (assumed); without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp present; fleshy, or dry; composed of 1 unified layer; without lactiform cavity system. Endocarp present; not separating from exocarp; thin, or bony; splitting into 1-seeded pyrenes; stone unilocular; stone 2–9-loculate; 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; D-shaped, or oblong; in transection triangular; 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 (assumed); surface unsmooth; surface with merged raised features; surface rugose, or reticulate; without crease or line separating cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle; without notch along margin where cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle tip approach each other, or with notch along margin where cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle tip approaching each other; without glands; without bristles; glabrous; without wings; without collar; without operculum; colored; monochrome; thin, or membranous; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Endosperm development cellular; copious; fleshy-firm; opaque; 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); 0.7–1 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); with cotyledons gradually connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; tiny to moderately developed; 0.1–0.2 times length of embryo; as wide as hypocotyl-radicle; 1 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; not foliaceous; smooth; with apices entire; basally entire; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle moderately developed; straight; not thickened.
Distribution
New World, Old World. North America, South America, Europe, Asia Major (colder parts).
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Ceratiola Michx. -- Corema D. Don -- Empetrum L. --
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 474.
General references
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, 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, Martin, A.C. 1946. The comparative internal morphology of seeds. Amer. Midl. Naturalist 36:513–660, 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, Engler & Prantl, LeMaout & Descaine. Seed illustration(s): Engler & Prantl, Cronquist, Karen. Embryo illustration(s): Engler & Prantl, LeMaout & Decaisne, Karen, Martin. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 142: Ceratiola ericoides Michx. (A-B), Corema conradii (Torr.) Torr. ex Loudon (C-D), Empetum nigrum L. (E-F).
• Fruit. 1 of 5. Empetrum nigrum L.: fruit. • Seed. 2 of 5. Empetrum nigrum L.: seeds. • Embryo. 3 of 5. Ceratiola ericoides Michx.: embryo. • Embryo. 4 of 5. Corema conradii (Torr.) Torr. ex Loudon: embryo. • Embryo. 5 of 5. Empetrum nigrum 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’.
