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Common name: Morina Family.
Number of genera 3 (Acanthocalyx, Cryptothlada, Morina). Number of species 13 (Cannon & Cannon (1984)).
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule an intact or entire fruit.
Fruits
Pistil(s) 1; 1-pistillate. Fruit anthocarp; simple; cypsela (based on Dipsacaceae); without persistent central column; within accessory organ(s), or not within accessory organ(s); within involucre (including 5 long awned calyx lobes), or calyx; accrescent; persistent; soft calyx, or hard calyx (possibly); 1-seeded; 1-seeded; 1-carpellate; in transection terete; apex not beaked; indehiscent. Epicarp brown (all shades) (at least); durable; glabrous (without hairs); without armature; smooth, or not smooth; rugose; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp absent. Endocarp present; not separating from exocarp; thin; not splitting into 1-seeded pyrenes; without operculum; without secretory cavities; without longitudinal ridges. Funiculus short; short without seed bearing hooks (retinacula); not persisting in fruit after seed shed.
Seeds
Aril absent. Seed straight; 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 (but hardly separable from pericarp); without markedly different marginal tissue; 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; membranous; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Endosperm scant; opaque; smooth, or ruminate; without 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), or nearly filling testa (trace or scanty food reserve); Morina (0.3–)0.9 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; basal; foliate; with spatulate cotyledons; 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, or well developed; 0.35–0.9 times length of embryo; somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle; 1.7–4 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 small to well developed; straight; not thickened.
Distribution
Old World. Balkans Europe, Africa, and southeastern Asia (to China & Himalayas).
Notes
Cannon & Cannon (1984) "Fruit dry, indehiscent, enclosed in the involucel and surmounted by the persistent calyx". "Acanthocalyx achenes smooth to rugose, apex somewhat cupshaped". "Cryptothlada achenes rugose, with obliquely truncate apex". "Morina achenes rugose, somewhat or markedly truncate".
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Acanthocalyx (DC.) Tiegh. -- Cryptothladia (Bunge) M. J. Cannon -- Morina L.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 1015 (Cronquist & Mabberley have in Dipsacaceae). Cannon, M.J. & J.F.M. Cannon. 1984. A revision of the Morinaceae (Magnoliophyta - Dipsacales). Bull. Brit. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) Bot. 12:1–35; Iranshahr, M. 1978. Morinaceae. In: K.H. Rechinger, ed., Flora des Iranischen hochlandes und der umrahmendsen gebirge, no. 135, pp 1–4, tab. 1–4. Druck & Verlagsanstalt, Graz.
General references
Mabberley, D.J. 1987. The plant-book, 706 p. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Illustrations
No fruit and seed illustrations.
• Fruit. 1 of 3. Morina persica L.: fruit with calyx. • Seed. 2 of 3. Morina persica L.: seed. • Embryo. 3 of 3. Morina longifolia Wall. ex DC.: 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’.
