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Synonyms: Altingiaceae Lindl., nom. cons.; Disanthaceae Nakai; Fothergillaceae Nutt.; Parrotiaceae Horan.; Rhodoleiaceae Nakai
Common name: Witch-hazel Family.
Number of genera 30. Number of species 90.
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule a dehisced fruit, or a seed.
Fruits
Fruit pericarpium; simple, or schizocarp, or compound; capsule; coccarium (Mytilaria laosensis Spjut Fig. 22A); capsiconum (Liquidamber Spjut Fig. 15B-C & 5 families: Cunoniaceae, Hamamelidaceae, Myrtaceae, Salicaceae, Saururaceae); ceratium capsule (Distylium), or septicidal capsule, or loculicidal capsule (or both septicidal & loculicidal); capsule not inflated; capsule without operculum; without persistent central column; 1-seeded; less than 1 cm long to from 1–5 cm long (at least); 1–1.5 cm long (at least); with carpels united; with carpels remaining united at maturity; without sterile carpels; not sulcate; in transection terete; apex beaked, or not beaked; dehiscent. Dehiscent unit seed(s). Dehiscent regularly; actively (is there an idehiscent fruit?); explosively; at apex; and shedding seeds; without replum. Epicarp brown (all shades) (at least); dull (at least); durable; leathery, or hard; glabrous (without hairs), or not glabrous (with hairs) (tomentose & stellate hairs); hairs not glandular; without armature; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp present; fleshy; composed of 1 unified layer; without lactiform cavity system. Endocarp present; separating spontaneously from exocarp; thin, or bony; 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; 5 to less than 10 mm long; 6–9 mm long; elliptic, or ovate; in transection terete, or compressed; not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s); at maturity with food reserves; with endosperm, or perisperm (Corner for genera like Distylium & Hamamelis); without canavanine. Sarcotesta absent. Testa present; without markedly different marginal tissue; without fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; loose; dull, or shiny; surface smooth, or unsmooth; surface with merged raised features; surface glandular blisters, or 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, or with wing(s); 1-winged; with wing at one end; with wing(s) solid; without collar; without operculum; colored; monochrome; brown (all shades), or black; hard; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Hilum larger than punctate. Endosperm development nuclear, or cellular (Parrotropsis); moderate, or scant; cartilaginous, or fleshy; smooth; with oils and proteins; without fatty acid containing cyclopropene; without apical lobes; without chlorophyll; without isodiametric faceted surface; without odor.
Perisperm Corner recorded present in some genera like Distylium & Hamamelis, but gave no amount; opaque. Embryo differentiated from food reserve; well developed; 1 per seed; partially filling testa (with food reserve); 0.6 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric; foliate; with spatulate cotyledons, or investing cotyledons (barely); straight; parallel to seed length; with cotyledons abruptly connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; well developed; 0.6–0.8 times length of embryo; somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle; 2–2.4 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; not concealing hypocotyl-radicle; foliaceous; thin; flat (or with curled edges); smooth; with apices entire; with margins separate; basally entire; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle moderately developed; straight; not thickened.
Distribution
Pansubtropical and pantemperate (except Old World tropics and Europe). New World, Old World. North America, Middle America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia Major, Asia Minor, southeastern Asia, Australia.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
ASOA listed seeds, ISTA listed seeds.
ASOA listed seeds: -- Liquidambar styraciflua L. -- Last updated September 2008.
ISTA listed seeds: -- Hamamelis virginiana L. -- Liquidambar styraciflua 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
Altingia Noronha -- Chunia Hung T. Chang -- Corylopsis Siebold & Zucc. -- Dicoryphe Thouars -- Disanthus Maxim. -- Distyliopsis P. K. Endress -- Distylium Siebold & Zucc. -- Embolanthera Merr. -- Eustigma Gardner & Champ. -- Exbucklandia R. W. Br. -- Fortunearia Rehder & E. H. Wilson -- Fothergilla L. -- Hamamelis L. -- Liquidambar L. -- Loropetalum R. Br. ex Rchb. -- Maingaya Oliv. -- Matudaea Lundell -- Molinadendron P. K. Endress -- Mytilaria Lecomte -- Neostrearia L. S. Sm. -- Noahdendron P. K. Endress et al. -- Ostrearia Baill. -- Parrotia C. A. Mey. -- Parrotiopsis (Nied.) C. K. Schneid. -- Rhodoleia Champ. ex Hook. -- Semiliquidambar Hung T. Chang -- Shaniodendron M. B. Deng et al. -- Sinowilsonia Hemsl. -- Sycopsis Oliv. -- Tetrathyrium Benth. -- Trichocladus Pers.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 173. Mohana Rao, P.R. 1974. Seed anatomy in some Hamamelidaceae and phylogeny. Phytomorphology 24:113–139.
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, 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, Hooker, J.D. 1873 and forward. Icones Plantarum. William & Norgate, London. (plate number cited in text within [ ]), 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, Schopmeyer, C.S. 1974. Seeds of Woody plants in the United States. Agric. Handb. 450:1–883.
Illustrations
Acceptable fruit and excellent seed illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): Cronquist, Schopmeyer, Hooker [1020 & 1931]. Seed illustration(s): Karen, Cronquist, Schopmeyer, LeMaout & Decaisne. Embryo illustration(s): Karen, Schopmeyer, LeMaout & Decaisne, Martin. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 045: Altingia excelsa Noronha (A-C), Corylopsis (willmottiae) sinensis Hemsley (D-F), Dicoryphe viticoides Baker (G-I), Distyliopsis dunnii (Hemsley) Endress (J-L), Exbucklandia populnea (R. Br. ex Griff.) R.W. Br. (M-O), Fortunearia sinensis Rehder & Wilson (P-R), Hamamelis japonica Siebold & Zucc. (S-U), Liquidambar styraciflua L. (V-X), Loropetalum chinense (R. Br.) Oliv. (2: A-C), Maingaya malayana Oliver (2: D-F), Mytilaria laosensis Lecomte (2: G-I), Parrotia persica (DC.) C.A. Mey. (2: J-L), Rhodoleia championi Hook. f. (2: M-O), Sycopsis sinensis Oliv.(2: P-R), Trichocladus malosanus Baker (2: S-U).
• Fruit. 1 of 20. Exbucklandia populnea (R. Br. ex Griff.) R. W. Br.: dehisced fruit head. • Seed. 2 of 20. Exbucklandia populnea (R. Br. ex Griff.) R. W. Br.: seeds. • Seed. 3 of 20. Hamamelis vernalis Sarg.: seeds. • Fruit. 4 of 20. Liquidambar styraciflua L.: dehisced fruit head. • Seed. 5 of 20. Liquidambar styraciflua L.: seeds. • Embryo. 6 of 20. Altingia excelsa Noronha: embryo. • Embryo. 7 of 20. Corylopsis sinensis Hemsl.: embryo. • Embryo. 8 of 20. Dicoryphe viticoides Baker: embryo. • Embryo. 9 of 20. Distyliopsis dunnii (Hemsl.) P. K. Endress: embryo. • Embryo. 10 of 20. Exbucklandia populnea (R. Br. ex Griff.) R. W. Br.: embryo. • Embryo. 11 of 20. Fortunearia sinensis Rehder & Wilson: embryo. • Embryo. 12 of 20. Hamamelis japonica Siebold & Zucc.: embryo. • Embryo. 13 of 20. Liquidambar styraciflua L.: embryo. • Embryo. 14 of 20. Loropetalum chinense (R. Br.) Oliv.: embryo. • Embryo. 17 of 20. Parrotia persica (DC.) C. A. Mey.: embryo. • Embryo. 18 of 20. Rhodoleia championii Hook.: embryo. • Embryo. 19 of 20. Sycopsis sinensis Oliv.: 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’.
