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Synonyms: Hyperantheraceae Link
Common name: Horse-radish Family.
Number of genera 1. Number of species 10.
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule a dehisced fruit, or a seed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels united. Fruit pericarpium; simple; capsule (& torulose); loculicidal capsule; capsule not inflated; capsule without operculum; without persistent central column; not within accessory organ(s); many-seeded; many; long; (2–)3(–4)-carpellate; with carpels united; with carpels remaining united at maturity; without sterile carpels; not sulcate; in transection angled (3–12-angled); 3-angled; apex beaked; apex long beaked; wall woody; dehiscent. Dehiscent unit seed(s). Dehiscent regularly; actively; explosively; and shedding seeds; without replum. Epicarp brown (all shades) (assumed); dull; durable; glabrous (without hairs); without armature; not smooth; 3–12 reticulate (or angled); without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp present. 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 larger than minute; circular (without wings); in transection terete to triangular; 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; with markedly different marginal tissue, or without markedly different marginal tissue; marginal tissue winglike; without fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; tight; dull; surface smooth, or unsmooth; surface with merged raised features; surface reticulate, or striate (wings); 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; with wing(s), or without wings; 3-winged; with wings on both sides (really wings on 3 sides); with wings equally developed; with wing(s) fimbriate; with solid wing(s) chartaceous; without collar; without operculum; colored; monochrome; blackish- brown (all shades); not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding embryo (or nearly so). Endosperm development nuclear; trace; aqueous.
Embryo differentiated from food reserve; well developed; 1 per seed; completely filling testa (no food reserve) (or nearly so); chamber central to wings; 1 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; foliate; with investing cotyledons; straight; with cotyledons abruptly connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; well developed; 0.9 times length of embryo; somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle; entirely concealing hypocotyl-radicle; thick; smooth; with apices entire; with margins separate; basally entire; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle small; straight; not thickened. Plumule well developed; composed of 2 seed-leaves to several seed-leaves; terminal between 2 cotyledons.
Distribution
Old World. Madagascar & Africa and southeastern Asia.
Notes
Seeds separated by spongy septa.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
ISTA listed seeds.
ISTA listed seeds: -- Moringa oleifera Lam. -- 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
Moringa Adans.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 449.
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., 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. Cronquist has no illustration. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): Gaertner, LeMaout & Decaisne, Engler & Prantl. Seed illustration(s): Karen, Engler & Prantl, Baillon. Embryo illustration(s): Karen, LeMaout & Decaisne, Baillon, Corner. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 135: Moringa oleifera Lam. (A-B).
• Seed. 1 of 2. Moringa oleifera Lam.: seed. • Embryo. 2 of 2. Moringa oleifera Lam.: 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’.
