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Synonyms: Aitoniaceae Harv.; Cedrelaceae R. Br.
Common name: Mahogeny Family.
Number of genera 49. Number of species 575.
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; Aglaia sp. nuculanium, or capsule, or drupe, or berry (latteral 3 found in Melioideae); loculicidal capsule, or septifragal capsule (Spjut Fig. 49A-B), or septicidal capsule; capsule not inflated, or inflated; capsule without operculum; berry indehiscent; berry without central placental mass; without persistent central column, or with persistent central column (Swietenioideae, Capuronianthoideae); valves diverging from top of central column (resembling umbrella ribs), or not diverging at top of central column; not within accessory organ(s); ?-many; ?-many; from 1–5 cm long to from 5.1–10 cm long; 2.5–10 cm long (at least); (1–)5(–20)-carpellate (really (1-)2–5(-20)); with carpels united; with carpels remaining united at maturity; without sterile carpels; in transection angled, or terete; 4-angled; apex not beaked; wall woody, or leathery, or membranaceous, or fleshy; dehiscent, or indehiscent. Dehiscent unit seed(s), or endocarp(s). Dehiscent regularly; actively, or passively; at apex, or base (or 1&3); and shedding seeds; without replum. Epicarp orange to pink, or gray to brown (all shades); dull; durable; glabrous (without hairs), or not glabrous (with hairs); hairs not glandular; without armature, or with armature; with Trichilia: slender & fimbriate bristles, or lignified trichomes (Pseudobersama: antlerlike); without armature glochidiate; smooth, or not smooth; without wing(s), or with wing(s); 1–4-winged; with wing(s) apical, or basal, or lateral; without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp absent, or present; fleshy, or leathery, or hard (woody); composed of 1 unified layer; without lactiform cavity system. Endocarp present, or absent; not separating from exocarp; thin, or woody, or cartilaginous, or thick; 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, or long; short without seed bearing hooks (retinacula); not persisting in fruit after seed shed (seeds may dangle from pseudo-funicules which are strips of endocarp or placenta).
Seeds
Aril on winged seeds absent, or present (on unwinged seeds); a true aril, or an arillike structure; orange to red, or white, or yellow; well developed, or vestigal; adnate to hilum, or testa; fleshy; of funicular origin, or outer integument origin; more or less encompassing, or basal; fleshy. Arillike structure falling with seed an arillode. Seed larger than minute; 1 to less than 5 mm long to 50+ mm long; 1.5–70 mm long; reniform, or curved, or ovate, or sectoral shape; in transection compressed, or terete, or triangular; not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without caudate appendage(s); at maturity with food reserves, or without food reserves (usually), or without apparent food reserves; with endosperm; without canavanine. Sarcotesta absent, or present (Melioideae & proliferated); fleshy, or corky, or woody. Testa present; without markedly different marginal tissue, or with markedly different marginal tissue; marginal tissue corklike; without fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer, or with fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; tight, or loose; dull; surface smooth, or unsmooth; surface with merged raised features; surface 1- ridged, or reticulate, or striate; 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; Melioideae without wings, or with wing(s); 1–2-winged; with wing encompassing seed, or wing at one end, or wings at both ends; without collar; without operculum; colored; monochrome; brown (all shades), or orange to red, or black, or white; thin, or membranous, or thick; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding embryo, or surrounding food reserve. Hilum larger than punctate; irregular. Raphe inconspicuous, or conspicuous; texture as testa, or spongy arilloid tissue (arilloid); as long as seed; included in dehisced fruit. Endosperm development nuclear; copious; fleshy; smooth; without starch (assumed); 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), or nearly filling testa (trace or scanty food reserve), or completely filling testa (no food reserve); 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, or investing cotyledons; straight, or bent, or C-shaped, or J-shaped; parallel to seed length, or oblique to seed length; embedded in endosperm; with cotyledons abruptly connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; 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; 3–3.2 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; not concealing hypocotyl-radicle, or partially concealing hypocotyl-radicle (barely); not foliaceous; thick, or moderately thick, or thin; flat, or once-folded; smooth; with apices entire; with margins separate; basally entire; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle moderately developed; coiled; not thickened.
Distribution
Cosmopolitan. New World, Old World. North America, Middle America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia Major, Asia Minor, southeastern Asia, Australia, Oceania.
Notes
Mabberley: "Seeds winged and then attached to woody columnella, or with corky outer layers, or with fleshy sarcotesta, or aril or a combination of both, or none of these". Melioideae - unwinged seeds, Quivisianthoideae - winged seeds, Capuronianthoideae - seeds with corky sarcotesta; Swietenioideae - winged seeds with wings at 1 or both ends or woody or corky sarcoteata. Study Corner. Arilloids fundamentally like the sacrotesta. Pennington & Styles (1975): Fruit bright orange or red capsule of Trichilia & Dysoxylon; greyish-brown berries in Aglaia or Lansium. Fruit usually capsule, either septifragal (Capuronianthoideae and Swietenoideae and woody with a central column angled or ridged but rudimentary in Schmardeae, Xylocarpus, Carapa) or loculicidal (Quivisianthoideae and Melioideae). Dehiscence of capsule basal, apical or top and bottom concurrently. Loculicidal capsules of Melioideae do not have a central columella and may be woody, leathery, membranous, or even fleshy. And dehisecense of loculicidal always apical. Capsules rarely bear simple or branched appendages. - in Pseudobersema they are stout and anteler-like, whereas spp. of Trichilia are slender and frimbriate, Capuronianthus its endocarp dehisces regularly along septa whereas the epi-mesocarp dehisces irregularly or not at all. Melioideae has indehiscent fruits, viz., soft berries Aglaia and drupaceous Owenia. Drupe may be thin cartilagenous or thicker and woody. Rarely 1 species of Aglaia a nut (dry or woody).
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
ISTA listed seeds.
ISTA listed seeds: -- Carapa guianensis Aubl. -- Cedrela odorata L.t -- Entandrophragma angolense (Welw.) C. DC. -- Entandrophragma cylindricum (Sprague) Sprague -- Entandrophragma utile (Dawe & Sprague) Sprague -- Guarea cedrata (A. Chev.) Pellegr. -- Guarea thompsonii Sprague & Hutch. -- Khaya anthotheca (Welw.) C. DC. -- Khaya ivorensis A. Chev. -- Khaya senegalensis (Desr.) A. Juss. -- Lansium domesticum Correa -- Lovoa trichilioides Harms -- Melia azedarach L.w -- Swietenia macrophylla King w -- Swietenia mahagoni (L.) Jacq. -- Toona ciliata M. Roem.w -- Turraeanthus africanus (Welw. ex C. DC.) Pellegr. -- 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
Aglaia Lour., nom. cons. -- Anthocarapa Pierre -- Aphanamixis Blume -- Astrotrichilia (Harms) T. D. Penn. & Styles -- Azadirachta A. Juss. -- Cabralea A. Juss. -- Calodecaryia J.-F. Leroy -- Capuronianthus J.-F. Leroy -- Carapa Aubl. -- Cedrela P. Browne -- Chisocheton Blume -- Chukrasia A. Juss. -- Cipadessa Blume -- Dysoxylum Blume -- Ekebergia Sparrm. -- Entandrophragma C. DC. -- Guarea F. Allam., nom. cons. -- Heckeldora Pierre -- Heynea Roxb. ex Sims -- Humbertioturraea J.-F. Leroy -- Khaya A. Juss. -- Lansium Corrêa -- Lepidotrichilia (Harms) J.-F. Leroy -- Lovoa Harms -- Malleastrum (Baill.) J.-F. Leroy -- Melia L. -- Munronia Wight -- Neobeguea J.-F. Leroy -- Nymania Lindb. -- Owenia F. Muell. -- Pseudobersama Verdc. -- Pseudocarapa Hemsl. -- Pseudocedrela Harms -- Pterorhachis Harms -- Reinwardtiodendron Koord. -- Ruagea H. Karst. -- Sandoricum Cav. -- Schmardaea H. Karst. -- Soymida A. Juss. -- Sphaerosacme Wall. ex M. Roem. -- Swietenia Jacq. -- Synoum A. Juss. -- Toona (Endl.) M. Roem. -- Trichilia P. Browne, nom. cons. -- Turraea L. -- Turraeanthus Baill. -- Vavaea Benth. -- Walsura Roxb. -- Xylocarpus J. König
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 813. Pennington, T.D. & B.T. Styles. 1975. A generic monograph of the Meliaceae. Blumea 22:419–540.
General references
Baillon, H.E. 1866–95. Histoire des plantes, 13 vols. Hachette and Co., Paris, 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, 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 J.V. Dennis. 1976. World guide to tropical drift seeds and fruits, 240 pp. The New York Times Book Co., New York, 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, Martin, A.C. 1946. The comparative internal morphology of seeds. Amer. Midl. Naturalist 36:513–660, 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.
Illustrations
Poor fruit and seed illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or fruit incomplete, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): Roosmalen, Baillon, Cronquist, Engler & Prantl, Schopmeyer. Fruit illustration(s): Schopmeyer. Seed illustration(s): Cronquist, Engler & Prantl, Schopmeyer, Gunn & Dennis. Embryo illustration(s): Cronquist, Engler & Prantl, Martin, Corner.
• Fruit. 1 of 13. Azadirachta indica A. Juss.: fruit. • Seed. 2 of 13. Azadirachta indica A. Juss.: seed. • Fruit. 3 of 13. Guarea grandifolia DC.: fruit. • Seed. 4 of 13. Guarea grandifolia DC.: seed. • Seed. 5 of 13. Lansium domesticum Corrêa: seeds. • Fruit. 6 of 13. Melia azedarach L.: fruit . • Fruit. 7 of 13. Melia azedarach L.: fruit with exocarp removed. • Seed. 8 of 13. Melia azedarach L.: seed. • Seed. 9 of 13. Sandoricum koetjape (Burm. f.) Merr.: seeds. • Seed. 10 of 13. Swietenia sp.: seeds. • Seed. 11 of 13. Turraea obtusifolia Hochst.: seed. • Embryo. 12 of 13. Melia azedarach L.: embryo. • Embryo. 13 of 13. Toona ciliata M. Roem.: 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’.
