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Synonyms: Cassythaceae Bartl. ex Lindl., nom. cons.; Perseaceae Horan.
Common name: Laurel Family.
Number of genera 54. Number of species 2200.
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule an intact or entire fruit, or an incomplete fruit with epicarp and mesocarp absent and endocarp exposed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels united. Fruit anthocarp, or pericarpium; simple; drupe, or berry, or amphisarcum; berry indehiscent; berry without central placental mass; simple, or schizocarp; glans, or acrosarcum (Spjut using exactly the same words cited Crptocarya both here & in the rejected fruit type: pseudodrupe); pomarium (Spjut: 3 families: Lauraceae, Monimiaceae, Nelumbonaceae); without persistent central column; with styles(s); at apex; within accessory organ(s), or not within accessory organ(s); within perianth, or hypanthium, or corolla, or cupule; accrescent; persistent; with hypanthium follicles; with hypanthium cupular; with hypanthium wall distinct from fruit wall; with hypanthium composed of 1 layer, or 2 layers; with hypanthium soft layer over hard layer; with hypanthium fleshy, or woody; 1-seeded; 1-seeded; from 1–5 cm long; 1.4–1.5 cm long (to 7 cm in diameter); 1-carpellate; not sulcate; in transection terete; apex not beaked; indehiscent. Epicarp black, or purple, or blue, or red; durable; crustaceous; glabrous (without hairs); without armature; smooth; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp present; fleshy, or leathery, or thin; composed of 1 unified layer; without lactiform cavity system; and endocarp sharply differentiated. Endocarp present, or absent; not separating from exocarp; thin, or woody; not splitting into 1-seeded pyrenes; without operculum; without secretory cavities; 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 to 10 to less than 25 mm long; 10–33(–60) mm long (in diameter); straight; in transection terete; not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s); at maturity without food reserves, or 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; 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, or thick; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding embryo. Endosperm development nuclear, or cellular (Cassytha).
Embryo differentiated 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; foliate; with investing cotyledons; straight; parallel to seed length; lying along one side of endosperm; with cotyledons abruptly connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; with cotyledons containing usually lauric acid, or oils, or starch; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; well developed; 0.8–0.9 times length of embryo; somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle; 9 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; entirely concealing hypocotyl-radicle; not foliaceous; massive, or thick; flat; smooth, or ruminate (sometimes); with apices laciniate; with margins separate; basally entire; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle small; straight; not thickened. Plumule occasionally evident.
Distribution
Pantropical and pansubtropical. New World, Old World. North America, Middle America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia Major, Asia Minor, southeastern Asia, Australia, Oceania.
Notes
Read Hyland (1989).
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
ASOA listed seeds, ISTA listed seeds.
ASOA listed seeds: -- Lindera benzoin (L.) Blume -- Umbellularia californica (Hook. & Arn.) Nutt. -- Last updated September 2008.
ISTA listed seeds: -- Aniba parviflora (Meisn.) Mez -- Aniba rosaeodora Ducke -- Cassytha filiformis L. -- Chlorocardium rodiei (M. R. Schomb.) Rohwer et al.-- Cinnamomum micranthum (Hayata) Hayata -- Cinnamomum verum J. Presl -- Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume = Cinnamomum verum J. Presl -- Endiandra palmerstonii C. T. White -- Laurus nobilis L. -- Ocotea caudata (Nees) Mez = Ocotea cernua (Nees) Mez -- Ocotea cernua (Nees) Mez -- Ocotea porosa (Nees & Mart.) Barroso -- Ocotea rodiei (M. R. Schomb.) Mez = Chlorocardium rodiei (M. R. Schomb.) Rohwer et al.-- Ocotea rubra Mez = Sextonia rubra (Mez) van der Werff-- Persea americana Mill. -- Phoebe porosa (Nees & Mart.) Mez = Ocotea porosa (Nees & Mart.) Barroso -- Sassafras albidum (Nutt.) Nees-- Sextonia rubra (Mez) van der Werff-- 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
Actinodaphne Nees -- Adenodaphne S. Moore -- Aiouea Aubl. -- Alseodaphne Nees -- Anaueria Kosterm. -- Aniba Aubl. -- Apollonias Nees -- Aspidostemon Rohwer & Richt. -- Beilschmiedia Nees -- Brassiodendron C. K. Allen -- Caryodaphnopsis Airy Shaw -- Cassytha L. -- Chlorocardium Rohwer et al. -- Cinnadenia Kosterm. -- Cinnamomum Schaeff., nom. cons. -- Clinostemon Kuhlm. & Samp. -- Cryptocarya R. Br., nom. cons. -- Dehaasia Blume -- Dicypellium Nees & Mart. -- Dodecadenia Nees -- Endiandra R. Br. -- Endlicheria Nees, nom. cons. -- Eusideroxylon Teijsm. & Binn., nom. cons. -- Gamanthera van der Werff -- Hexapora Hook. f. -- Hypodaphnis Stapf -- Iteadaphne Blume -- Kubitzkia van der Werff -- Laurus L. -- Licaria Aubl. -- Lindera Thunb., nom. cons. -- Litsea Lam., nom. cons. -- Mezilaurus Kuntze ex Taub. -- Mocinnodaphne Lorea-Hern. -- Nectandra Rol. ex Rottb., nom. cons. -- Neocinnamomum H. Liu -- Neolitsea (Benth. & Hook. f.) Merr., nom. cons. -- Nothaphoebe Blume -- Ocotea Aubl. -- Paraia Rohwer et al. -- Persea Mill., nom. cons. -- Phoebe Nees -- Phyllostemonodaphne Kosterm. -- Pleurothyrium Nees -- Potameia Thouars -- Potoxylon Kosterm. -- Povedadaphne W. C. Burger -- Ravensara Sonn. -- Rhodostemonodaphne Rohwer & Kubitzki -- Sassafras T. Nees & C. H. Eberm. -- Sextonia van der Werff -- Syndiclis Hook. f. -- Triadodaphne Kosterm. -- Umbellularia (Nees) Nutt., nom. cons. -- Urbanodendron Mez -- Williamodendron Kubitzki & Richt.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 74. Hyland, B.P.M. 1989. A revision of Lauraceae in Australia (excluding Cassytha). Austral. Syst. Bot. 2:135–343.
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, 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, Roosmalen, M.G.M. van. 1985. Fruits of the Guianan flora, 483 pp. Institute of Systematic Botany, Wageningen Agricultural University. Drukkerij Veenman B.V., Wageningen, 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, Wood, C.E., Jr. 1974. A student's atlas of flowering plants: Some dicotyledons of eastern North America, 120 pp. Harper and Row, New York.
Illustrations
Acceptable fruit and seed illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or fruit incomplete, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): Roosmalen, Wood, Jr., Hyland (1989), Schopmeyer. Fruit illustration(s): Schopmeyer, Karen. Seed illustration(s): Schopmeyer. Embryo illustration(s): Wood, Jr., Hyland (1989), Schopmeyer, Karen. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 017: Actinodaphne hookeri Meisn. (A-B), Cassytha melantha R. Br. (C-D), Cinnamomum camphora (L.) J. Presl (E-F), Cryptocarya rubra (Molina) Skeels (G-H), Lindera citriodora Hemsley (I-J), Litsea monopetala Pers. (K-L), Machilus gammieana King (M-N [no testa]), Nectandra (glabrescens) hihua (Ruiz & Pav.) Rehder (O-P), Ocotea leucoxylon Bentham & Hook. f. (Q-R), Persea donnell-smithii Mez (S-T), Phoebe nammu (Oliv.) Gamble (U-V), Sassafras (variifolium) albidum (Nutt.) Nees (W-X), Aiouea densiflora Nees (Y-Z), Bellota miersii J. Remy (AA-BB), Endiandra sieberi Nees (CC-DD), Ravensara aromatica Sonn. [not finalized], Aniba riparia Mez [not finalized].
• Fruit. 1 of 23. Cassytha melantha R. Br.: fruits. • Seed. 2 of 23. Cassytha melantha R. Br.: seeds. • Fruit. 3 of 23. Cinnamomum camphora (L.) J. Presl: fruit. • Seed. 4 of 23. Cinnamomum camphora (L.) J. Presl: seeds. • Fruit. 5 of 23. Litsea monopetala (Roxb.) Pers.: fruit. • Seed. 6 of 23. Litsea monopetala (Roxb.) Pers.: seed. • Seed. 7 of 23. Persea americana Mill.: seed. • Fruit. 8 of 23. Sassafras albidum (Nutt.) Nees: fruit. • Seed. 9 of 23. Sassafras albidum (Nutt.) Nees: seed. • Embryo. 10 of 23. Actinodaphne hookeri Meisn.: embryo. • Embryo. 11 of 23. Bellota miersii J. Rémy: embryo. • Embryo. 12 of 23. Cassytha melantha R. Br.: embryo. • Embryo. 13 of 23. Cinnamomum camphora (L.) J. Presl: embryo. • Embryo. 14 of 23. Cryptocarya rubra (Molina) Skeels: embryo. • Embryo. 15 of 23. Endiandra sieberi Nees: embryo. • Embryo. 16 of 23. Lindera citriodora (Siebold & Zucc.) Hemsl.: embryo. • Embryo. 17 of 23. Litsea monopetala (Roxb.) Pers.: embryo. • Embryo. 18 of 23. Persea clarkeana (King ex Hook. f.) Kosterm.: embryo. • Embryo. 19 of 23. Nectandra hihua (Ruiz & Pav.) Rohwer: embryo. • Embryo. 20 of 23. Ocotea leucoxylon (Sw.) Laness: embryo. • Embryo. 21 of 23. Persea donnell-smithii Mez: embryo. • Embryo. 22 of 23. Phoebe nammu (Oliv.) Gamble: embryo. • Embryo. 23 of 23. Sassafras albidum (Nutt.) Nees: 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’.
