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Common name: Melianthus Family.
Number of genera 2. Number of species 8.
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule a dehisced fruit, or a seed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels united. Fruit pericarpium; simple, or schizocarp, or multiple; capsule; coccarium (Bersama); lomentetum; loculicidal capsule; capsule not inflated; capsule without operculum; without persistent central column; not within accessory organ(s); more than 1 but less than 10-seeded; 2–5-seeded; from 1–5 cm long; 3 cm long; 4(–5)-carpellate; with carpels united; with carpels remaining united at maturity; with carpels not radiating at maturity; without sterile carpels; not sulcate, or sulcate; apex not beaked; wall chartaceous; dehiscent. Dehiscent and shedding seeds; without replum. Epicarp durable; chartaceous; glabrous (without hairs); without armature; Bersama without wing(s), or with wing(s) (Melianthus); 4-winged; without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp present, or 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 Bersama present, or absent (Melianthus); a true aril; yellow; well developed; adnate to hilum; dry (assumed); of funicular origin; unlobed. Seed larger than minute; 5 to less than 10 mm long to 10 to less than 25 mm long; 8–9 mm long (to 14 mm when fresh); elliptic, or ovate; 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 markedly different marginal tissue; without fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; tight; Melianthus shiny, or dull (Bersama); surface Melianthus smooth, or unsmooth (Bersama); surface with merged raised features; surface reticulate; without crease or line separating cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle; with notch along margin where cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle tip approaching each other, or 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; crustaceous; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Hilum larger than punctate; -U -conical, foveolate. Endosperm development nuclear; copious; fleshy, or hard (horny); smooth; without starch, or with starch; 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); 0.5 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric; conical (or nearly so), or linear; straight; parallel to seed length; embedded in endosperm; with cotyledons gradually connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; moderately developed; divaricate, or not divaricate; 0.5 times length of embryo; somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle; 1 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; not concealing hypocotyl-radicle; not foliaceous; 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
Old World. South Africa.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Bersama Fresen. -- Melianthus L.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 792.
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, 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, 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, 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): Engler & Prantl, LeMaout & Decasine, Cronquist. Seed illustration(s): Engler & Prantl, LeMaout & Decaisne, Karen. Embryo illustration(s): Engler & Prantl, LeMaout & Decaisne, Karen. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 250: Berama engleriana Gurke (A-B), Melianthus major L. (C-D).
• Fruit. 1 of 5. Bersama abyssinica Fresen.: dehisced fruit. • Seed. 2 of 5. Bersama abyssinica Fresen.: seeds. • Seed. 3 of 5. Melianthus major L.: seeds. • Embryo. 4 of 5. Bersama engleriana Gürke: embryo. • Embryo. 5 of 5. Melianthus major L.: 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’.
