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Synonyms: Kirengeshomaceae Nakai; Philadelphaceae Martinov; Pottingeriaceae Takht.
Common name: Hydrangea Family.
Number of genera 18. Number of species 170.
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule a dehisced fruit, or an intact or entire fruit, or a seed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) 1; 1-pistillate. Fruit pericarpium; simple; capsule, or berry (rarely); pyxidium capsule (Cardiandra), or loculicidal capsule (& septicidally), or septicidal capsule (& loculicidally), or fissuricidal capsule (Carpenteria), or poricidal capsule (Hydrangea but not Spjut); capsule not inflated; capsule without operculum; berry indehiscent; berry without central placental mass; without persistent central column; crowned by sepals; with styles(s); at apex; not within accessory organ(s); more than 1 but less than 10-seeded, or many-seeded; few for Whipplei or usually many; (2–)3(–12)-carpellate (usually 3–5); with carpels united, or separate; with carpels remaining united at maturity, or separating at maturity; without sterile carpels; not sulcate; in transection terete (at least); apex beaked, or not beaked; dehiscent, or indehiscent. Dehiscent unit seed(s). Dehiscent regularly; passively; linearly, or non-linearly; by ventral sutures; by withering fruit wall; and shedding seeds; without replum. Epicarp brown (all shades), or black (ish); dull (assumed); durable, or evanscent (for some during dehiscence, but ribs remain); glabrous (without hairs); without armature; not smooth, or smooth; longitudinally ribbed; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Endocarp present, or absent; 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; oblong, or elliptic, or linear, or straight; in transection terete; not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s), or with 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; loose, or tight; dull, or shiny; surface unsmooth; surface with merged raised features; surface reticulate, or striate; 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 encompassing seed; with wing(s) solid; with solid wing(s) similar to testa; without collar; without operculum; colored; monochrome; brown (all shades), or yellow, or black; membranous; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Endosperm development cellular; moderate, or scant; fleshy; 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; 1 per seed; partially filling testa (with food reserve); 0.7–0.9 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric; foliate, or linear; with spatulate cotyledons; straight; parallel to seed length; with cotyledons abruptly connected to hypocotyl-radicle, or gradually connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; moderately developed; 0.2–0.6 times length of embryo; as wide as hypocotyl-radicle, or somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle; 1–2 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; not concealing hypocotyl-radicle; foliaceous, or not foliaceous; thin; flat; smooth; with apices entire; with margins separate; basally entire; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle well developed; straight; not thickened.
Distribution
Pantemperate and pansubtropical (of northern hemisphere). New World, Old World. North America, Middle America, Europe, Asia Major, southeastern Asia (to Malesia).
Notes
Goldberg also recognized Philadelphiaceae.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
ISTA listed seeds.
ISTA listed seeds: -- Hydrangea macrophylla (Thunb.) Ser. -- Hydrangea paniculata Siebold -- 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
Broussaisia Gaudich. -- Cardiandra Siebold & Zucc. -- Carpenteria Torr. -- Decumaria L. -- Deinanthe Maxim. -- Deutzia Thunb. -- Dichroa Lour. -- Fendlera Engelm. & A. Gray -- Fendlerella A. Heller -- Hydrangea L. -- Jamesia Torr. & A. Gray, nom. cons. -- Kirengeshoma Yatabe -- Philadelphus L. -- Pileostegia Hook. f. & Thomson -- Platycrater Siebold & Zucc. -- Pottingeria Prain -- Schizophragma Siebold & Zucc. -- Whipplea Torr.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 555. Spongberg, S.A. 1972. The genera of Saxifragaceae in the southeastern United States, J. Arnold Arbor. 53:409–498.
General references
Baillon, H.E. 1866–95. Histoire des plantes, 13 vols. Hachette and Co., Paris, 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.
Illustrations
Poor fruit and seed illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): Cronquist, Engler & Prantl, Baillon, Schopmeyer, Spongberg (1972). Seed illustration(s): Engler & Prantl, Baillon, Schopmeyer, Spongberg (1972). Embryo illustration(s): Engler & Prantl, Baillon, Schopmeyer, Spongberg (1972).
• Fruit. 1 of 5. Decumaria barbara L.: fruits. • Seed. 2 of 5. Decumaria barbara L.: seeds. • Fruit. 3 of 5. Hydrangea integrifolia Hayata: fruits. • Seed. 4 of 5. Hydrangea integrifolia Hayata: seeds. • Embryo. 5 of 5. Philadelphus lewisii Pursh: 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’.
