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Synonyms: Atherospermataceae R. Br.; Hortoniaceae A. C. Sm.; Siparunaceae Schodde
Common name: Monimia Family.
Number of genera 34. Number of species 450.
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule an intact or entire fruit, or an incomplete fruit with epicarp and mesocarp absent and endocarp exposed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound, or simple; 1 to more than 21; 1–100-pistillate; with carpels nearly separate to base, or carpels united. Fruit anthocarp, or pericarpium; simple; drupe; schizocarp, or multiple; pomarium (Spjut 3 families: Lauraceae, Monimiaceae, Nelumbonaceae); Glossocalyx Spjut 4 families: Calycanthaceae, Eupomataceae, Monimiaceae, Rosacae pometum, or trymetum (Spjut Fig. 52F-G: only family and hypanthium splits); without persistent central column; with styles(s); at apex; within accessory organ(s); within hypanthium and perianth (embedded or atop hypanthium & occasionally with perianth), or receptacle; accrescent; persistent; with hypanthium nuts, or drupes; with hypanthium wall distinct from fruit wall; with receptacle (torus) fleshy; 1-seeded to many-seeded; Xymalos 1-seeded (to many); less than 1 cm long (-?); 0.6 cm long (-?); 1-carpellate (to many); with carpels separate; with carpels not radiating at maturity; without sterile carpels; not sulcate; apex not beaked; indehiscent. Epicarp black; durable; glabrous (without hairs); without armature; smooth; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp present, or absent; fleshy; composed of 1 unified layer; without lactiform cavity system; and endocarp sharply differentiated, or not sharply differentiated. Endocarp present; not separating from exocarp; thin, or hard, or thick, or woody; not splitting into 1-seeded pyrenes; stone unilocular; stone 1-loculate; smooth, or not smooth; with tubercules; 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, or present (Siparuna); a true aril, or an arillike structure (depending on author); pink to red; well developed; fleshy; lobed. Arillike structure falling with seed a carpellary aril. Seed larger than minute; 5 to less than 10 mm long to 10 to less than 25 mm long; 3–12 mm long; not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s); at maturity with food reserves; with endosperm; without canavanine. Sarcotesta present, or absent; fleshy (Siparuna). Testa present; without markedly different marginal tissue; with fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer, or 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; brown (all shades) (assumed); membranous, or thin; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Endosperm development cellular; copious; opaque (white); 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); 0.2–0.5 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric; linear, or foliate; with spatulate cotyledons (assumed); straight; parallel to seed length; embedded in endosperm; with cotyledons gradually connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; moderately developed to well developed; divaricate, or not divaricate; 0.3–0.75 times length of embryo; as wide as hypocotyl-radicle to somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle; 1–4 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 moderately developed to well developed; straight; not thickened.
Distribution
Pantropical and pansubtropical. New World, Old World. Middle America, South America, Africa, Asia Minor, southeastern Asia, Australia, Oceania.
Notes
Philipson (1987) Subfam. 1. Hortonioideae - fruit drupe; endocarp lignified; pseudofruit little changed at maturity. Subfam. 2. Atherospermatoideae - Fruit dry nutletlet. plumose, pseudofruit cylindrical, urceolate or pyriform, woody usually splitting or indehiscent. Sufam. 3. Separunoideae - Fruit drupe occasionally with stylar aril, pseudofruit splitting open at maturity. Subfam. 4. Glassacalycoideae - fruit drupe, psuedofruit more or less fleshy enclosing drupe, perianth persistent. Subfam. 5. Mollinedioideae - fruit drupe, pseudofruit with a woody, fleshy or leathery recepacle often enlarged or recurved, often with upper part abscissed. Sufam. 6. Monimioideae - drupe stony endocarp, stylar aril (Monimia), pseudofruit globose, splitting open when mature, or in Peumus receptacle little enlarged and drupe exposed. (End of Philipson.) Seed free in drupe and adnate to fruit in nut.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Atherosperma Labill. -- Austromatthaea L. S. Sm. -- Daphnandra Benth. -- Decarydendron Danguy -- Doryphora Endl. -- Dryadodaphne S. Moore -- Ephippiandra Decne. -- Faikea Philipson -- Glossocalyx Benth. -- Hedycarya J. R. Forst. & G. Forst. -- Hennecartia J. Poiss. -- Hortonia Wight ex Arn. -- Kairoa Philipson -- Kibara Endl. -- Kibaropsis Vieill. ex Jérémie -- Laurelia Juss., nom. cons. -- Laureliopsis Schodde -- Lauterbachia J. R. Perkins -- Levieria Becc. -- Macropeplus J. R. Perkins -- Macrotorus J. R. Perkins -- Matthaea Blume -- Mollinedia Ruiz & Pav. -- Monimia Thouars -- Nemuaron Baill. -- Palmeria F. Muell. -- Parakibara Philipson -- Peumus Molina, nom. cons. -- Siparuna Aubl. -- Steganthera J. R. Perkins -- Tambourissa Sonn. -- Tetrasynandra J. R. Perkins -- Wilkiea F. Muell. -- Xymalos Baill.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 66. Philipson, W.R. 1987. A classification of the Monimiaceae. Nord. J. Bot. 7:25–29; Lorence, D.H. 1987. The fruits of Decarydendron (Monimiaceae). Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 74:445–446; Jérémie, J. 1978–9. Étude des Monimiaceae: Révision du genre Hedycarya. Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat., sér. 3, Bot. 18:25–53.
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, 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, 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 fruit incomplete, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): Jeremie (1978–9), Baillon, Cronquist, Lorence (1987). Fruit illustration(s): Baillon. Seed illustration(s): Jeremie (1978–9), Cronquist. Embryo illustration(s): Jeremie (1978–9), Baillon, Engler & Prantl, Corner.
• Seed. 1 of 10. Laurelia sempervirens (Ruiz & Pav.) Tul.: seed with hairs. • Seed. 2 of 10. Laurelia sempervirens (Ruiz & Pav.) Tul.: seed without hairs. • Fruit. 3 of 10. Monimia rotundifolia Thouars: fruit. • Seed. 4 of 10. Monimia rotundifolia Thouars: seeds. • Fruit. 5 of 10. Peumus boldus Molina: fruit. • Seed. 6 of 10. Peumus boldus Molina: seed. • Seed. 7 of 10. Tambourissa amplifolia Tul. ex DC.: seeds. • Embryo. 8 of 10. Hortonia floribunda Wight ex Arn.: embryo. • Embryo. 9 of 10. Monimia rotundifolia Thouars: embryo. • Embryo. 10 of 10. Peumus boldus Molina: 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’.
