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Synonyms: Lilaeaceae Dumort.; Maundiaceae Nakai; Triglochinaceae Bercht. & J. Presl
Common name: Arrow-grass Family.
Number of genera 4. Number of species 18.
Angiosperm. Liliopsida.
Disseminule a dehisced fruit, or an intact or entire fruit, or a seed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound, or simple; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels united. Fruit pericarpium, or anthocarp; simple, or schizocarp; Lilaea achene, or capsule, or follicle (not Spjut); camarium (Triglochin, fruit with carpels united & indehiscent); septifragal capsule (not Spjut); capsule not inflated; capsule without operculum; schizocarp; polachenarium (Spjut quoted Mason (1957): "the indehiscent fertile carpels separating from the persistent sterile carpels" which apparently is the "carpophore"); with persistent central column, or without persistent central column; valves not diverging at top of central column; not within accessory organ(s); 1-seeded (-few); 1-seeded (-few); Lilaea 1–6-carpellate (Maundia & Tetroniocum with 4; Triglochin 3–6); with carpels united, or separate; with carpels remaining united at maturity, or separating only at apex at maturity; with carpels not radiating at maturity, or radiating at maturity; with carpels remaining connected at style, or separating at style; without sterile carpels, or with sterile carpels; not sulcate; in transection terete, or flat; apex beaked (rarely hooked or horned); apex short beaked; wall leathery (assumed); dehiscent, or indehiscent (Triglochin). Dehiscent unit seed(s). Dehiscent passively; at apex; and shedding seeds; without replum. Epicarp brown (all shades) (assumed); durable; glabrous (without hairs); without armature, or with armature (rarely); with hooks, or horns (apically); without armature glochidiate; smooth, or not smooth; without wing(s), or with wing(s) (Lilaea); 2-winged; with wing(s) lateral; without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp absent. 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 in transection terete; 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 fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; loose; 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) (assumed); not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Endosperm development nuclear.
Embryo differentiated from food reserve, or undifferentiated from food reserve; well developed; 1 per seed; completely filling testa (no food reserve); at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; basal; broad; straight, or bent; capping one end of endosperm; without coleoptile; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; acotyledonous. Hypocotyl-radicle undeveloped.
Distribution
Cosmopolitan. New World, Old World. North America, Middle America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia Major, Asia Minor, southeastern Asia, Australia, Oceania.
Notes
Goldberg also recognized Lilaeaceae. Fruit occasionally spurred at base.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
ASOA listed seeds.
ASOA listed seeds: -- Triglochin maritima L. -- Last updated September 2008.
Accepted genera
Lilaea Bonpl. -- Maundia F. Muell. -- Tetroncium Willd. -- Triglochin L.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 1062.
General references
Cronquist, A. 1981. An integrated system of classification of flowering plants, 1,262 p. Columbia University Press, New York, 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, 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, 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.
Illustrations
Acceptable fruit and seed illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): Haynes & Holm-Nielsen, Cronquist, LeMaout & Decasine. Seed illustration(s): Karen. Embryo illustration(s): Karen [no details], Martin. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 326: Lilaea scilloides (Poir.) Hauman (A-B), Maundia triglochinoides F. Muell. (C-D), Tetroncium magellanicum [Not in INPI] (E-F), Triglochin striatum (G-H).
• Fruit. 1 of 6. Lilaea scilloides (Poir.) Hauman: fruiting head. • Fruit. 2 of 6. Lilaea scilloides (Poir.) Hauman: fruits. • Seed. 3 of 6. Lilaea scilloides (Poir.) Hauman: seed.
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’.
