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Common name: Unicorn-plant Family.
Number of genera 4. Number of species 15.
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule a dehisced fruit, or a seed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels united. Fruit pericarpium; simple; capsule; ceratium capsule (Spjut based on cited genera which were in Pedaliaceae); capsule not inflated; capsule without operculum; without persistent central column; from 1–5 cm long, or from 5.1–10 cm long; 7.5–20 cm long; without sterile carpels; apex not beaked; dehiscent. Dehiscent unit seed(s) (& where Proboscidea sheds epicarp & mesocarp before endocarp dehisces seeds). Dehiscent without replum. Epicarp brown (all shades), or green; dull; durable; not glabrous (with hairs); hairs short; hairs dense, or scattered; hairs not glandular; with armature; with hooks, or horns; smooth; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp present; fleshy; composed of 1 unified layer; without lactiform cavity system; and endocarp sharply differentiated. Endocarp present; separating spontaneously from exocarp; hard; not splitting into 1-seeded pyrenes; not smooth; with terminal hooks, or reticulate, or spinulose; without wing; without operculum; without secretory cavities; 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; 10 to less than 25 mm long; 12 mm long; oblong; in transection compressed; 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; dull; surface unsmooth; surface with depressed features, or discreet raised features; surface grooved; 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; black; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted. Endosperm development cellular; copious; 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); 0.9–1 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; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; well developed; not concealing hypocotyl-radicle; foliaceous; flat; smooth; with apices entire; with margins separate; basally entire; equal in size; not punctate dotted.
Distribution
New World. North America, Middle America, South America.
Notes
Abbiatii (1939) noted that seeds with borders compressed, protruding and with grooves.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
ASOA listed seeds.
ASOA listed seeds: -- Martynia louisianica Mill. = Proboscidea louisianica subsp. louisianica (Mill.) Thell. -- Proboscidea louisianica subsp. louisianica (Mill.) Thell. -- Last updated September 2008.
Accepted genera
Craniolaria L. -- Martynia L. -- Proboscidea Schmidel
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 966 (Cronquist, Mabberley & Spjut have in Pedaliaceae). Abbiatti, D. 1939. Las Martiniáceas argentinas. Notas Mus. La Plata, Bot. 4(29):443–473.
General references
Gaertner, J. 1788–1805. De fructibus et seminibus plantarum. The Author, Stuttgart, 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, Spjut, R.W. 1994. A systematic treatment of fruit types. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 70:1–182.
Illustrations
Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or fruit incomplete, or seed. Fruit illustration(s): Abbiatii (1939), Gaertner, Spjut, Roosmalen, LeMaout & Decaisne. Fruit illustration(s): Gaertner. Seed illustration(s): Gaertner, Abbiatii (1939). Embryo illustration(s): Abbiatii (1939).
• Fruit. 1 of 3. Martynia annua L.: fruits. • Seed. 2 of 3. Martynia annua L.: seed. • Embryo. 3 of 3. Proboscidea lutea (Lindl.) Stapf: 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’.
