| | Family guide for fruits and seeds |
Synonyms: Prionotaceae Hutch.; Stypheliaceae Horan.
Common name: Epacris Family.
Number of genera 31. Number of species 400.
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, or anthocarp; simple; drupe (Decatoca), or capsule (Epacrideae); loculicidal capsule; capsule not inflated; capsule without operculum; simple; glans (Styphelia); with persistent central column, or without persistent central column; within accessory organ(s), or not within accessory organ(s); 1-seeded to many-seeded; 1-seeded (-many); 1–2-carpellate (assumed); with carpels united; with carpels remaining united at maturity; with carpels not radiating at maturity; without sterile carpels; apex not beaked; capsule dehiscent, or indehiscent (drupe & glans). Dehiscent unit seed(s). Dehiscent regularly; and shedding seeds; without replum. Epicarp durable; without armature; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp present; dry, or fleshy (& between pyrenes); composed of 1 unified layer; without lactiform cavity system. Endocarp present; not separating from exocarp; hard; splitting into 1-seeded pyrenes; stone unilocular; stone 1–10-loculate; 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 larger than minute; C-shaped, or oblong, or curved, or linear, or D-shaped, or elliptic; 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; surface unsmooth, or smooth; surface with merged raised features; surface reticulate, or ridged, or roughened, or rugose, or striate; without crease or line separating cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle; with notch along margin where cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle tip approaching each other, or 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; thin; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Endosperm development cellular; copious; 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, or rudimentary; 1 per seed; partially filling testa (with food reserve); 0.2–0.9 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric; linear; linear; straight, or C-shaped; parallel to seed length; with cotyledons gradually connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; scarcely differentiated, or tiny; 0.1–0.6 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 small to well developed; straight, or curved; not thickened.
Distribution
Old World and New World. South America (Patagonia), southeastern Asia, Australia, Oceania.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Acrotriche R. Br. -- Andersonia R. Br. -- Archeria Hook. f. -- Astroloma R. Br. -- Brachyloma Sond. -- Budawangia I. Telford -- Choristemon H. B. Will. -- Coleanthera Stschegl. -- Conostephium Benth. -- Cosmelia R. Br. -- Cyathodes Labill. -- Cyathopsis Brongn. & Gris -- Decatoca F. Muell. -- Dracophyllum Labill. -- Epacris Cav., nom. cons. -- Lebetanthus Endl., nom. cons. -- Leucopogon R. Br., nom. cons. -- Lissanthe R. Br. -- Lysinema R. Br. -- Melichrus R. Br. -- Monotoca R. Br. -- Needhamiella L. Watson -- Oligarrhena R. Br. -- Pentachondra R. Br. -- Prionotes R. Br. -- Richea R. Br., nom. cons. -- Rupicola Maiden & Betche -- Sphenotoma (R. Br.) Sweet -- Sprengelia Sm. -- Styphelia Sol. ex Sm. -- Trochocarpa R. Br. -- Woollsia F. Muell.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 476.
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, 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. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): LeMaout & Decaisne. Seed illustration(s): Karen. Embryo illustration(s): Karen, LeMaout & Decasine. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 143: Acrotriche depressa R. Br. (A-C), Andersonia sprengelioides R. Br. (D-F), Brachyloma daphnoides Bentham (G-I), Coleanthera myrtoides Stschegl. (J-L), Cyathodes fasciculata (G. Forst.) Allan (M-O), Dracophyllum traversii Hook. f. (P-R), Epacris impressa Labill. (S-U), Lissanthe strigosa R. Br. (2: A-C), Melichrus erubescens (2: D-F), Needhamiella pumilio (2: G-I), Oligarrhena micrantha R. Br. (2: J-L), Pentachondra pumila (2: M-O), Richea dracophylla R. Br. (2: P-R), Styphelia tameiameiae (Cham.) F. Muell. (2:S-U), Trochocarpa glauca (Labill.) Spreng. (2: V-X).
• Fruit. 1 of 21. Dracophyllum traversii Hook. f.: dehisced fruit. • Seed. 2 of 21. Dracophyllum traversii Hook. f.: seed. • Fruit. 3 of 21. Epacris obtusifolia Sm.: fruit. • Seed. 4 of 21. Epacris obtusifolia Sm.: seeds. • Fruit. 5 of 21. Styphelia tameiameiae (Cham.) F. Muell.: fruit. • Seed. 6 of 21. Styphelia tameiameiae (Cham.) F. Muell.: seeds. • Embryo. 7 of 21. Acrotriche depressa R. Br.: embryo. • Embryo. 9 of 21. Brachyloma daphnoides (Sm.) Benth.: embryo. • Embryo. 10 of 21. Coleanthera myrtoides Stschegl.: embryo. • Embryo. 11 of 21. Cyathodes fasciculata (Forst. F.) Allan: embryo. • Embryo. 13 of 21. Epacris impressa Labill.: embryo. • Embryo. 14 of 21. Lissanthe strigosa (Sm.) R. Br.: embryo. • Embryo. 16 of 21. Needhamiella pumilio (R. Br.) L. Watson: embryo. • Embryo. 18 of 21. Pentachondra pumila (J. R. Forst. & G. Forst.) R. Br.: embryo. • Embryo. 19 of 21. Richea dracophylla R. Br.: embryo. • Embryo. 20 of 21. Styphelia tameiameiae (Cham.) F. Muell.: 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’.
