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Synonyms: Chironiaceae Bercht. & J. Presl; Coutoubeaceae Martinov
Common name: Gentian Family.
Number of genera 76. Number of species 1200.
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule a dehisced fruit, or an intact or entire fruit, or a seed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound; with carpels united. Fruit pericarpium; simple; capsule, or amphisarcum, or berry (Chironia); poricidal capsule (Flora Neotrpica [41], but not Spjut), or fissuricidal capsule (Voyria (Leiphaimos)), or ceratium capsule (Voyria), or poricidal capsule (of authors, but not Spjut), or septicidal capsule (Gentiana of authors, but of Spjut); capsule not inflated; capsule without operculum; berry indehiscent; berry without central placental mass; without persistent central column; many-seeded; many; 2-carpellate; with carpels united; with carpels remaining united at maturity; without sterile carpels; sulcate; in transection terete; apex not beaked, or beaked; dehiscent, or indehiscent. Dehiscent unit seed(s). Dehiscent regularly; and shedding seeds; without replum. Epicarp durable; glabrous (without hairs) (assumed); without armature; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp present, or absent; fleshy; composed of 1 unified layer; without lactiform cavity system. 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; less than 1 mm long (to ?); straight, or C-shaped, or sigmoid, or fusiform; 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); dull, or shiny; surface unsmooth; surface with discreet raised features, or merged raised features; surface papillate; surface reticulate, or rugose, or sculptured, or ridged (finely); 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) (at least); thin; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Endosperm development cellular, or nuclear; scant, or copious (Menyantheae); fleshy; smooth; with starch; with hemicellulose, or oils, or proteins; without fatty acid containing cyclopropene; without apical lobes; without chlorophyll; without isodiametric faceted surface; without odor.
Embryo differentiated from food reserve, or undifferentiated from food reserve (achlorophyllus genera seeds have 3–10 cells); 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, or basal; linear, or foliate; with spatulate cotyledons; dwarf; shield shaped; straight; parallel to seed length; capping one end of endosperm; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons, or acotyledonous. Cotyledons 2; tiny, or well developed; divaricate, or not divaricate; 0.1–0.5 times length of embryo; 1–2 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; thin; flat; sculptured; with apices cleft; with margins separate; basally cordate; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle vestigial, or small; straight; not thickened.
Distribution
Cosmopolitan (but most common in temperate and subtropical regions and in tropical mountains). New World, Old World. North America, Middle America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia Major, Asia Minor, southeastern Asia, Australia, Oceania.
Notes
Maas & Ruyters in Flora Neotropica [41]: 3 fruit types for Voyria: Indehiscent; septicidally dehiscent; partly dehiscent by hole in middle section (septicidally) - latter occurs in 4 spp. Voyriella fruit is an indehiscent beaked capsule, and this is not scored.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
ASOA listed seeds, ISTA listed seeds.
ASOA listed seeds: -- Centaurium Hill spp. -- Eustoma grandiflorum (Raf.) Shinners = Eustoma exaltatum (L.) Salisb. ex G. Don subsp. russellianum (Hook.) Kartesz-- Eustoma exaltatum (L.) Salisb. ex G. Don subsp. russellianum (Hook.) Kartesz-- Eustoma russellianum (Hook.) G. Don = Eustoma exaltatum (L.) Salisb. ex G. Don subsp. russellianum (Hook.) Kartesz-- Exacum affine Balf. f. -- Last updated September 2008.
ISTA listed seeds: -- Canscora alata (Roth) Wall.-- Canscora decussata Schult. & Schult. f. = Canscora alata (Roth) Wall.-- Exacum affine Balf. f. -- Gentiana acaulis L.f -- Gentiana dahurica Fisch. -- Gentiana lutea L. -- Gentiana septemfida Pall. -- 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
Aripuana Struwe et al. -- Bartonia Muhl. ex Willd., nom. cons. -- Bisgoeppertia Kuntze -- Blackstonia Huds. -- Canscora Lam. -- Celiantha Maguire -- Centaurium Hill -- Chionogentias L. G. Adams -- Chironia L. -- Chorisepalum Gleason & Wodehouse -- Cicendia Adans. -- Comastoma (Wettst.) Toyok. -- Congolanthus A. Raynal -- Cotylanthera Blume -- Coutoubea Aubl. -- Cracosna Gagnep. -- Crawfurdia Wall. -- Curtia Cham. & Schltdl. -- Deianira Cham. & Schltdl. -- Djaloniella P. Taylor -- Enicostema Blume, nom. cons. -- Eustoma Salisb. -- Exaculum Caruel -- Exacum L. -- Faroa Welw. -- Geniostemon Engelm. & A. Gray -- Gentiana L. -- Gentianella Moench, nom. cons. -- Gentianopsis Ma -- Gentianothamnus Humbert -- Halenia Borkh., nom. cons. -- Hockinia Gardner -- Hoppea Willd. -- Irlbachia Mart. -- Ixanthus Griseb. -- Jaeschkea Kurz -- Karina Boutique -- Latouchea Franch. -- Lehmanniella Gilg -- Lisianthius P. Browne -- Lomatogoniopsis T. N. Ho & S. W. Liu -- Lomatogonium A. Braun -- Macrocarpaea (Griseb.) Gilg -- Megacodon (Hemsl.) Harry Sm. -- Metagentiana T. N. Ho et al. -- Microrphium C. B. Clarke -- Monodiella Maire -- Neblinantha Maguire -- Neurotheca Salisb. ex Benth. & Hook. f. -- Obolaria L. -- Oreonesion A. Raynal -- Ornichia Klack. -- Orphium E. Mey., nom. cons. -- Parajaeschkea Burkill -- Prepusa Mart. -- Pterygocalyx Maxim. -- Pycnosphaera Gilg -- Rogersonanthus Maguire & B. M. Boom -- Sabatia Adans. -- Schinziella Gilg -- Schultesia Mart., nom. cons. -- Sebaea Sol. ex R. Br. -- Senaea Taub. -- Sipapoantha Maguire & B. M. Boom -- Swertia L. -- Symbolanthus G. Don -- Symphyllophyton Gilg -- Tachia Aubl. -- Tachiadenus Griseb. -- Tapeinostemon Benth. -- Tetrapollinia Maguire & B. M. Boom -- Tripterospermum Blume -- Urogentias Gilg & Gilg-Ben. -- Veratrilla (Baill.) Franch. -- Voyria Aubl. -- Voyriella (Miq.) Miq. -- Wurdackanthus Maguire -- Zonanthus Griseb. -- Zygostigma Griseb.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 871. Maas, P.J.M. & P. Ruyters. 1986. Votria and Voyriella (saprophytic Gentianaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 41:1–93.
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, Flora Neotropica. 1968–74. Nos. 1–14. Hafner Publishing Company, Darien and 1976-. Nos. 15-present. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx [monograph number], 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. and C.A. Ritchie. 1988. Identification of disseminules listed in the Federal Noxious Weed Act. Techn. Bull. U.S.D.A. 1719:1–313, 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, 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
Poor fruit and acceptable seed illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): Engler & Prantl, Cronquist, Wood, Jr. Seed illustration(s): Engler & Prantl, Cronquist, Wood, Jr., LeMaout & Decaisne, Gunn & Ritchie, Flora Neotropica [41]. Embryo illustration(s): Engler & Prantl, LeMaout & Decaisne, Gunn & Ritchie.
• Seed. 1 of 9. Blackstonia perfoliata Huds.: seeds. • Fruit. 2 of9. Canscora diffusa (Vahl) R. Br. ex Roem. & Schult.: fruit. • Seed. 3 of 9. Canscora diffusa (Vahl) R. Br. ex Roem. & Schult.: seeds. • Fruit. 4 of 9. Chironia baccifera L.: fruit. • Seed. 5 of 9. Chironia baccifera L.: seeds. • Fruit. 6 of 9. Exacum trinervium (L.) Druce: fruit. • Seed. 7 of 9. Exacum trinervium (L.) Druce: seeds. • Seed. 8 of 9. Swertia japonica (Roem. & Schult.) Makino: seeds. • Embryo. 9 of 9. Canscora alata (Roth) Wall.: 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’.
