| | Family guide for fruits and seeds |
Synonyms: Blyxaceae Nakai; Elodeaceae Dumort.; Enhalaceae Nakai; Halophilaceae J. Agardh; Stratiotaceae Schultz Sch.; Thalassiaceae Nakai; Vallisneriaceae Dumort.
Common name: Tape-grass Family.
Number of genera 17. Number of species 100.
Angiosperm. Liliopsida.
Disseminule a dehisced fruit, or an intact or entire fruit, or a seed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels united. Fruit anthocarp, or pericarpium; simple; capsule, or berry (of authors, but not Spjut); septicidal capsule (Thalassia); capsule not inflated; capsule without operculum; berry indehiscent; berry without central placental mass; without persistent central column; not within accessory organ(s); more than 1 but less than 10-seeded to many-seeded; few to many; from 1–5 cm long to from 5.1–10 cm long; 1.5–7 cm long; (2–)3(–20)-carpellate (usually 3–6); with carpels united, or separate (essentially); with carpels remaining united at maturity, or separating at maturity; without sterile carpels; not sulcate; in transection terete; apex not beaked, or beaked; apex long beaked (assumed); wall fleshy, or membranaceous; indehiscent, or dehiscent. Dehiscent unit seed(s). Dehiscent irregularly, or regularly; passively; linearly, or non-linearly; by dorsal sutures and ventral sutures; by withering fruit wall; at apex; and shedding seeds; without replum. Epicarp green, or red, or yellow and green; evanscent, or durable; rindlike; glabrous (without hairs), or not glabrous (with hairs); hairs not glandular; without armature, or with armature; with soft prickles; smooth, or not smooth; echinate; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp absent. 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; less than 1 mm long to 10 to less than 25 mm long; 1–15 mm long; ovate, or irregular, or obovate, or fusiform, or circular, or straight, or C-shaped (slightly); in transection terete; not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s); at maturity with food reserves, or without apparent 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 smooth, or unsmooth; surface with discreet raised features, or merged raised features; surface echinate, or papillate; 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, or with bristles; glabrous; without wings; without collar; without operculum; colored; monochrome; brown (all shades), or green; thin; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted, or becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding embryo (essentially). Endosperm development originally helobial and cellular (when seed mature); scant (Ottelia).
Embryo differentiated from food reserve; well developed; 1 per seed; completely filling testa (no food reserve), or nearly filling testa (trace or scanty food reserve); at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; linear; straight, or C-shaped (slightly); without coleoptile; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 1 cotyledon. Cotyledons one and terminal with lateral plumule (spirally twisted on self); not modified into scutellum; not circinately coiled. Hypocotyl-radicle moderately developed; straight; not thickened, or much thickened (rarely). Plumule well developed, or minute.
Distribution
Cosmopolitan. New World, Old World. North America, Middle America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia Major, Asia Minor, southeastern Asia, Australia, Oceania.
Notes
Fruit stellately dehiscent in Thalassia.
Weed information
1 or more USA Federal noxious weeds, 1 or more USA state noxious weeds.
USA Federal noxious weeds: -- Hydrilla verticillata (L. f.) Royle: USA Federal Noxious Weedª; USA state noxious weed: ALª, AZª, CAª, COª, CTª, FLª, MAª, MEª, MNª, MSª, NCª, NHª, NMª, NVª, OKª, ORª, PRª, SCª, TXª, VTª, WAª. -- Lagarosiphon major (Ridl.) Moss: USA Federal Noxious Weedª; USA state noxious weed: ALª, CAª, MAª, MNª, NCª, OKª, SCª, TXª, WAª. -- Ottelia alismoides (L.) Pers.: USA Federal Noxious Weedª; USA state noxious weed: MAª, NCª, OKª, SCª, TXª. -- Symbols: ªaquatic weed; ●terrestrial weed; °weed in seed. -- Last updated September 2008.
USA states and territories with listed noxious weeds: Alabama (AL), Arizona (AZ), California (CA), Colorado (CO), Connecticut (CT), Florida (FL), Maine (ME), Massachusetts (MA), Minnesota (MN), Mississippi (MS), Nevada (NV), New Hampshire (NH), New Mexico (NM), North Carolina (NC), Oklahoma (OK), Oregon (OR), Puerto Rico (PR), South Carolina (SC), Texas (TX), Vermont (VT), Washington (WA).
USA state and territory noxious weeds: -- Egeria densa Planch.: USA state noxious weed: ALª●, CTª, MAª, MEª, NHª, ORª, PRª, SCª, VTª, WAª. -- Hydrilla verticillata (L. f.) Royle: USA Federal Noxious Weedª; USA state noxious weed: ALª, AZª, CAª, COª, CTª, FLª, MAª, MEª, MNª, MSª, NCª, NHª, NMª, NVª, OKª, ORª, PRª, SCª, TXª, VTª, WAª. -- Hydrocharis morsus-ranae L.: USA state noxious weed: CAª, MEª, MNª, NHª, VTª, WAª. -- Lagarosiphon major (Ridl.) Moss: USA Federal Noxious Weedª; USA state noxious weed: ALª, CAª, MAª, MNª, NCª, NHª, OKª, SCª, TXª, WAª. -- Lagarosiphon spp.: USA state noxious weed: FLª, NCª. -- Limnobium laevigatum (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) Heine: USA state noxious weed: CAª. -- Limnobium spongia (Bosc) Steud.: USA state noxious weed: CAª, PRª. -- Najas guadalupensis (Spreng.) Magnus: USA state noxious weed: PRª.-- Najas marina L.: USA state noxious weed: ALª●.-- Najas minor All.: USA state noxious weed: CTª, MAª, MEª, NHª, SCª, WAª.-- Nechamandra alternifolia (Roxb.) Thwaites: USA state noxious weed: FLª. -- Ottelia alismoides (L.) Pers.: USA Federal Noxious Weedª; USA state noxious weed: MAª, NCª, OKª, SCª, TXª. -- Stratiotes aloides L.: USA state noxious weed: ALª●, FLª, MNª. -- Symbols: ªaquatic weed; ●terrestrial weed; °weed in seed. -- Last updated September 2008.
Listed seeds
ASOA listed seeds, ISTA listed seeds.
ASOA listed seeds: -- Hydrilla verticillata (L. f.) Royle -- Lagarosiphon major (Ridl.) Moss -- Ottelia alismoides (L.) Pers. -- Last updated September 2008.
ISTA listed seeds: -- Elodea canadensis Michx.w -- Hydrilla verticillata (L. f.) Roylew -- Lagarosiphon major (Ridl.) Mossw -- Stratiotes aloides L.w -- 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
Apalanthe Planch. -- Appertiella C. D. K. Cook & Triest -- Blyxa Noronha ex Thouars -- Egeria Planch. -- Elodea Michx. -- Enhalus Rich. -- Halophila Thouars -- Hydrilla Rich. -- Hydrocharis L. -- Lagarosiphon Harv. -- Limnobium Rich. -- Maidenia Rendle -- Nechamandra Planch. -- Ottelia Pers. -- Stratiotes L. -- Thalassia Banks ex K. D. Koenig -- Vallisneria L.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 1052. Hartog, C. den. 1970. The sea-grasses of the world. Verh. Kon. Ned. Akad. Watensch., Afd. Natuurk. 59:1–275; Cook, C.D.K. & R. Lüönd. 1982. A revision of the genus Nechamandra (Hydrocharitaceae). Aquatic Bot. 13:505–513.
General references
Cronquist, A. 1981. An integrated system of classification of flowering plants, 1,262 p. Columbia University Press, New York, Dahlgren, R.M.T., H.T. Clifford and P.F. Yeo. 1985. The families of the monocotyledons, 520 pp. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 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. 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, Haynes, R.R. and L.B. Holm-Nielsen. 1985. A generic treatment of Alismatidae in the neotropics with special reference to Brazil. Acta Amazonica, Supl. 15:153–193, 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, Spjut, R.W. 1994. A systematic treatment of fruit types. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 70:1–182.
Illustrations
Acceptable fruit and seed illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): LeMaout & Decaisne, Engler & Prantl, Dahlgren et al., Gaertner, Hartog (1970). Seed illustration(s): Gunn & Ritchie. Embryo illustration(s): LeMaout & Decaisne, Engler & Prantl.
• Fruit. 1 of 13. Elodea bifoliata St. John: fruit. • Seed. 2 of 13. Elodea bifoliata St. John: seeds. • Fruit. 3 of 13. Halophila decipiens Ostenf.: fruit. • Seed. 4 of 13. Halophila decipiens Ostenf.: seeds. • Seed. 6 of 13. Hydrilla verticillata (L. f.) Royle: seed cluster. • Fruit. 7 of 13. Lagerosiphon sp.: fruits. • Seed. 8 of 13. Ottelia ovalifolia (R. Br.) Rich.: seeds. • Fruit. 9 of 13. Thalassia hemprichii (Ehrenb.) Asch.: fruit.
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’.
