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Common name: Malesherbia Family.
Number of genera 1. Number of species 27.
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule a dehisced fruit, or an intact or entire fruit, or a seed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels united. Fruit pericarpium; simple; capsule; loculicidal capsule; capsule not inflated; capsule without operculum; without persistent central column; within accessory organ(s); within hypanthium; with hypanthium capsules; with hypanthium wall distinct from fruit wall; more than 1 but less than 10-seeded to 10 to less than 25-seeded; 5–10-seeded; less than 1 cm long; 0.35–1 cm long; 3–4-carpellate; with carpels united; with carpels remaining united at maturity; without sterile carpels; not sulcate; in transection terete (assumed); apex not beaked; wall membranaceous; indehiscent, or dehiscent. Dehiscent unit seed(s). Dehiscent regularly; and shedding seeds; without replum. Epicarp durable; hirsute not glabrous (with hairs), or glabrous (without hairs); hairs not glandular; without armature; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. 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 larger than minute; 1 to less than 5 mm long; 1.5–2.3 mm long; oblong; 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 markedly different marginal tissue; with fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; tight; surface unsmooth; surface with merged raised features, or depressed features; surface pitted; surface reticulate, or ridged; 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; "pardo oscuro"; membranous; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Raphe conspicuous (filiform). Endosperm copious (Goldberg: "endosperm dotted"); 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); 0.7–0.8 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; straight; parallel to seed length; embedded in endosperm; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; well developed; 0.4–0.5 times length of embryo; somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle; 2 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; not concealing hypocotyl-radicle; 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
New World. South America (Andes: Peru to Chile & Argentina).
Notes
Ricardi (1967): Cotyledons oblong or rounded.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Malesherbia Ruiz & Pav.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 411. Ricardi S., M. 1967. Revisión taxonomica de las Malesherbiaceas. Gayana 16:3–139.
General references
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, 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, Spjut, R.W. 1994. A systematic treatment of fruit types. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 70:1–182.
Illustrations
Acceptable fruit and seed illustrations. Cronquist has no illustration. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): Ricardi (1967), Engler & Prantl. Seed illustration(s): Karen, Engler & Prantl, Ricardi (1967). Embryo illustration(s): Karen, Engler & Prantl. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 121: Malesherbia paniculata D. Don (A-B).
• Fruit. 1 of 3. Malesherbia paniculata D. Don: dehisced fruit, partially broken, with calyx, coralla, and stamens. • Seed. 2 of 3. Malesherbia paniculata D. Don: seeds. • Embryo. 3 of 3. Malesherbia paniculata D. Don: 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’.
