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Synonyms: Ophiraceae Arn.
Common name: Grubbia Family.
Number of genera 1. Number of species 3 (Grubbia rosmarinifolia P. J. Bergius, G. rourkei Carlquist, G. tomentosa (Thunb.) Harms).
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule an intact or entire fruit.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels united. Fruit anthocarp, or pericarpium; simple; drupe (of authors, but not Spjut - individual fruits in a compact cluster suggesting small cupressaceous cone); compound; achenoconum (fruits collectively as a compact cluster resembling a small cupressaceous cone); without persistent central column; not within accessory organ(s); without sterile carpels; apex not beaked; indehiscent. Epicarp durable; without armature; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp present; fleshy; composed of 1 unified layer; without lactiform cavity system. Endocarp present; not separating from exocarp; bony, or woody; 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 (assumed); oblong (more or less); 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; surface with merged raised features; 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; without collar; without operculum; colored; monochrome; thin; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Endosperm development cellular (probably); copious; fleshy; smooth; with oils and proteins; 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); 0.7–0.8 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric; linear; straight; 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; moderately developed; 0.3–0.4 times length of embryo (not according to Karen); as wide as hypocotyl-radicle; 1 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; not foliaceous; thin; flat; corrugate; with apices entire; with margins separate; basally entire; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle well developed; straight; not thickened.
Distribution
Old World. Africa (Cape Town, South Africa).
Notes
Carlquest (1977): Fruit indehiscent, fleshy exocarp and woody or bony endocarp. Each fruit (1-seeded) united with adjacent fruits in an inflorescence, forming a syncarp. Fruit purple resembling a juniper ball but without scales.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Grubbia P. J. Bergius
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 471. Carlquist, S. 1977. A revision of Grubbiaceae. J. S. African Bot. 43:115–128.
General references
Cronquist, A. 1981. An integrated system of classification of flowering plants, 1,262 p. Columbia University Press, New York, 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, 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): Carlquist (1977). Seed illustration(s): Karen. Embryo illustration(s): Karen. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 141: Grubbia stricta A. DC.(A-B).
• Fruit. 1 of 3. Grubbia tomentosa (Thunb.) Harms: fruiting head. • Seed. 2 of 3. Grubbia tomentosa (Thunb.) Harms: seeds. • Embryo. 3 of 3. Grubbia tomentosa (Thunb.) Harms: 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’.
