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Synonyms: Castaneaceae Adans.; Quercaceae Martinov
Common name: Beech Family.
Number of genera 9. Number of species 1050.
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule a dehisced fruit, or an intact or entire fruit, or a seed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) 1; 1-pistillate. Fruit anthocarp; simple, or compound; glans (Quercus alba L., Spjut Fig. 43C); trymosum (Castanea mollissima Blume, Spjut Fig. 53B & 2 families: Fagaceae & Moraceae); without persistent central column; with styles(s); at apex; within accessory organ(s); within imbricated scales, or involucre, or cupule (all with or without barbless spines); accrescent; persistent; 1-seeded to more than 1 but less than 10-seeded; 1–3-seeded; 1–3-carpellate; with carpels united; with carpels remaining united at maturity; without sterile carpels; not sulcate; apex not beaked; wall leathery; dehiscent, or indehiscent. Dehiscent unit seed(s). Dehiscent passively; without replum. Epicarp brown (all shades); shiny, or dull; durable; leathery, or coriaceous; glabrous (without hairs); without armature, or with armature; with bristles, or spines; without armature glochidiate; smooth, or not smooth; 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 larger than minute; in transection terete, or triangular; not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s); at maturity without food reserves, or with food reserves; with endosperm; without canavanine. Sarcotesta absent. Testa present; without fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; 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); thin; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding embryo. Endosperm development nuclear; trace (Fagus).
Embryo differentiated from food reserve (but no endosperm); well developed; 1 per seed; completely filling testa (no food reserve); at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; foliate; with investing cotyledons; straight; parallel to seed length; with cotyledons abruptly connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; with cotyledons containing oils, or starch; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; well developed; 0.8–0.9 times length of embryo; 6 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle (at least & probably more); partially concealing hypocotyl-radicle, or entirely concealing hypocotyl-radicle; not foliaceous; thick, or thin; much folded, or twice-folded, or sinuous, or flat; ruminate; with apices entire; with margins separate; basally entire, or cordate; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle moderately developed, or small; straight; not thickened.
Distribution
Pantropical (except tropical & southern Africa). New World, Old World. North America, Middle America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia Major, Asia Minor, southeastern Asia, Australia, Oceania (except tropical & southern Africa).
Notes
Cronquist, Goldberg, & Mabberley placed Nothofagus in Fagaceae.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
ASOA listed seeds, ISTA listed seeds.
ASOA listed seeds: -- Castanopsis chrysophylla (Douglas ex Hook.) A. DC. = Chrysolepis chrysophylla (Douglas ex Hook.) Hjelmq. -- Chrysolepis chrysophylla (Douglas ex Hook.) Hjelmq. -- Lithocarpus densiflorus (Hook. & Arn.) Rehder -- Quercus alba L. -- Quercus chrysolepis Liebm. -- Quercus gambelii Nutt. -- Quercus garryana Douglas ex Hook. -- Quercus kelloggii Newb. -- Quercus muehlenbergii Engelm. -- Quercus L. spp. -- Quercus virginiana Mill. -- Last updated September 2008.
ISTA listed seeds: -- Castanea sativa Mill.t -- Castanopsis hystrix A. DC. -- Castanopsis purpurella (Miq.) N. P. Balakr. = Castanopsis hystrix A. DC. -- Fagus orientalis Lipsky -- Fagus sylvatica L.t -- Fagus sylvatica subsp. orientalis (Lipsky) Greuter & Burdet = Fagus orientalis Lipsky -- Nothofagus alpina (Poepp. & Endl.) Oerst.t-- Nothofagus obliqua (Mirb.) Blumet -- Nothofagus procera Oerst. = Nothofagus alpina (Poepp. & Endl.) Oerst.-- Quercus alba L.t -- Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.t -- Quercus robur L.t -- Quercus rubra L.t -- Quercus suber L.t -- Symbols: aagricultural and vegetable seeds (Table 2A Part 1); ttree and shrub species (Table 2A Part 2); fflower, spice, herb, and medicinal seeds (Table 2A Part 3); wweed seeds. -- Last updated September 2008.
Accepted genera
Castanea Mill. -- Castanopsis (D. Don) Spach, nom. cons. -- Chrysolepis Hjelmq. -- Colombobalanus Nixon & Crepet -- Fagus L. -- Formanodendron Nixon & Crepet -- Lithocarpus Blume -- Quercus L. -- Trigonobalanus Forman
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 223 (also see Nothofagaceae).
General references
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, 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, Mabberley, D.J. 1987. The plant-book, 706 p. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, Schopmeyer, C.S. 1974. Seeds of Woody plants in the United States. Agric. Handb. 450:1–883, Spjut, R.W. 1994. A systematic treatment of fruit types. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 70:1–182, Wood, C.E., Jr. 1974. A student's atlas of flowering plants: Some dicotyledons of eastern North America, 120 pp. Harper and Row, New York.
Illustrations
Acceptable fruit and no seed illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit. Fruit illustration(s): Schopmeyer, Wood, Jr., Engler & Prantl, Karen. Embryo illustration(s): Schopmeyer, Wood, Jr., Karen. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 061: Castanea pumila (L.) Mill. (A-B), Castanopsis cuspidata (Thunb.) Schottky (C-D), Fagus (orientalis) sylvatica L. subsp. orientalis (Lipsky) Greuter & Burdel (E-F), Lithocarpus densiflora (Hook. & Arn.) Rehder (G-H), Quercus (glandulifera) serrata Thunb. (K-L), Trigonobalanus verticillata Forman (M-N) [I-J moved to Nothofagaceae].
• Fruit. 1 of 13. Castanea crenata Siebold & Zucc.: fruit. • Seed. 2 of 13. Castanea crenata Siebold & Zucc.: seed. • Fruit. 3 of 13. Fagus sylvatica (Lipsky) Greuter & Burdet subsp. orientalis: fruit. • Seed. 4 of 13. Fagus sylvatica (Lipsky) Greuter & Burdet subsp. orientalis: seed. • Fruit. 5 of 13. Lithocarpus brevicaudatus (Skan) Hayata: fruit. • Fruit. 6 of 13. Quercus virginiana Mill.: fruit and fruit cupule. • Seed. 7 of 13. Quercus virginiana Mill.: fruit without fruit cupule. • Embryo. 8 of 13. Castanea pumila (L.) Mill.: embryo. • Embryo. 9 of 13. Castanopsis cuspidata (Thunb.) Schottky: embryo. • Embryo. 10 of 13. Fagus sylvatica (Lipsky) Greuter & Burdet subsp. orientalis: embryo. • Embryo. 11 of 13. Lithocarpus densiflorus (Hook. & Arn.) Rehder: embryo. • Embryo. 12 of 13. Quercus serrata Thunb.: embryo. • Embryo. 13 of 13. Trigonobalanus verticillata Forman: 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’.
