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Synonyms: Aegicerataceae Blume; Ardisiaceae Juss.; Embeliaceae J. Agardh
Common name: Myrsine Family.
Number of genera 32 (with Maesa removed). Number of species 1150 (with Maesa spp. removed).
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; berry, or drupe (Parathesis), or capsule (Aegiceras but not Spjut); fissuricidal capsule (Aegicera opening by 1 slit, but not in Spjut); capsule not inflated; capsule without operculum; berry indehiscent; berry without central placental mass, or with soft and juicy central placental mass easily separating from epicarp; without persistent central column; not within accessory organ(s); Myrsinoiedeae 1-seeded to more than 1 but less than 10-seeded; 1-seeded (to several); 3(–6)-carpellate (3–5(-6)); with carpels united; with carpels remaining united at maturity; with carpels not radiating at maturity; without sterile carpels; not sulcate; in transection terete; apex not beaked; wall fleshy (for berry); indehiscent, or dehiscent. Dehiscent unit seed(s). Dehiscent without replum. Epicarp purple, or black, or red; durable; glabrous (without hairs); without armature; smooth, or not smooth; resinous and punctate (Parathesis tetramera Bullock); without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp present; fleshy; composed of 1 unified layer; without lactiform cavity system; and endocarp sharply differentiated. Endocarp present, or absent; not separating from exocarp; bony, or 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; 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, or absent; vestigial; without embryo surrounded and capped by viscid tissue; without markedly different marginal tissue; without fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; loose; surface unsmooth; surface with merged raised features; surface ribbed, 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; without wings; without collar; without operculum; colored; monochrome; black, or brown (all shades); thin; becoming mucilaginous when wetted, or not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Endosperm development nuclear; copious, or trace (latter 2 for larger seeds of Aegiceras); hard, or fleshy; semi- transparent; smooth, or ruminate; 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 (to many Ardisia); completely filling testa (no food reserve), or partially filling testa (with food reserve), or nearly filling testa (trace or scanty food reserve); 0.6–1 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric (when endosperm present); linear; straight, or bent, or C-shaped; multiseeded fruits parallel to seed length, or transverse to seed length (single-seeded fruits); 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; 0.2–0.3 times length of embryo; as wide as hypocotyl-radicle (more or less); 1 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; not concealing hypocotyl-radicle; not foliaceous; thin; flat; smooth; with apices entire; with margins separate, or connate (Aegiceras); basally entire; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle well developed; straight, or curved; not thickened.
Distribution
Cosmopolitan. New World to Old World. North America, Middle America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia Major, Asia Minor, southeastern Asia, Australia, Oceania.
Weed information
1 or more USA state noxious weeds.
USA states and territories with listed noxious weeds: Connecticut (CT), Hawaii (HI), Massachusetts (MA), Washington (WA).
USA state and territory noxious weeds: -- Ardisia elliptica Thunb.: USA state noxious weed: HI●°. -- Lysimachia nummularia L.: USA state noxious weed: MA●.-- Lysimachia vulgaris L.: USA state noxious weed: CT●, WAª●. -- Symbols: ªaquatic weed; ●terrestrial weed; °weed in seed. -- Last updated September 2008.
Listed seeds
ASOA listed seeds, ISTA listed seeds.
ASOA listed seeds: -- Anagallis arvensis L. -- Anagallis arvensis f. caerulea (L.) Ludi = Anagallis arvensis var. caerulea (L.) Gouan -- Anagallis arvensis var. caerulea (L.) Gouan -- Anagallis monelli L. -- Cyclamen africanum Boiss. & Reut. -- Lysimachia nummularia L. -- Lysimachia L. spp. -- Last updated September 2008.
ISTA listed seeds: -- Ardisia crenata Simsw -- Ardisia crenulata hort. = Ardisia crenata Sims-- Ardisia crispa (Thunb.) A. DC. -- 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
Aegiceras Gaertn. -- Amblyanthopsis Mez -- Amblyanthus A. DC. -- Antistrophe A. DC. -- Ardisia Sw., nom. cons. -- Badula Juss. -- Conandrium (K. Schum.) Mez -- Ctenardisia Ducke -- Cybianthus Mart., nom. cons. -- Discocalyx (A. DC.) Mez -- Elingamita G. T. S. Baylis -- Embelia Burm. f., nom. cons. -- Emblemantha B. C. Stone -- Fittingia Mez -- Geissanthus Hook. f. -- Gentlea Lundell -- Heberdenia Banks ex A. DC., nom. cons. -- Hymenandra (A. DC.) Spach -- Labisia Lindl., nom. cons. -- Loheria Merr. -- Monoporus A. DC. -- Myrsine L. -- Oncostemum A. Juss. -- Parathesis (A. DC.) Hook. f. -- Pleiomeris A. DC. -- Sadiria Mez -- Solonia Urb. -- Stylogyne A. DC. -- Synardisia (Mez) Lundell -- Systellantha B. C. Stone -- Tapeinosperma Hook. f. -- Tetrardisia Mez -- Vegaea Urb. -- Wallenia Sw., nom. cons.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 514 (see also Maesaceae).
General references
Boerlage, J. G. 1897–1914. Icones Borgorienses, 4 vols. E.J. Brill, Leiden (plate numbers are in [ ]), 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, 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, 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, Spjut, R.W. 1994. A systematic treatment of fruit types. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 70:1–182.
Illustrations
No fruit and acceptable seed illustration. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): LeMaout & Decaisne. Seed illustration(s): Karen. Embryo illustration(s): Karen, LeMaout & Decasine, Boerlage [182], Martin. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 154: Ardisia crispa (Thunb.) A. DC. (A-C), Badula grammistricta (Cordemoy) M.J.E. Coode (D-F), Conandrium sp. (G-I), Ctenardisia amplifolia (Standley) Lundell (J-L), Discocalyx psychotrioides Elmer (M-O), Elingamita johnsonii Baylis (P-R), Cybianthus (Grammadenia) lineata (Bentham) Pipoly (2: A-C), Monoporus paludosus A. DC. (2: D-F), Oncostemum botryoides Baker (G-I), Rapanea howittiana Mez (J-L), Ardisia (Synardisia) venosa Mast. (M-O), Tapeinosperma vieillardia Hook. f. (P-R), Vegaea pungens Urb. (S-U), Cybianthus (Weigeltia) schomburgkianus (Mez) G. Agostini (V-X).
• Fruit. 1 of 21. Aegiceras corniculatum (L.) Blanco: fruit. • Seed. 2 of 21. Aegiceras corniculatum (L.) Blanco: seed. • Fruit. 3 of 21. Ardisia crispa (Thunb.) A. DC.: fruit. • Fruit. 4 of 21. Ardisia crispa (Thunb.) A. DC.: fruit with exocarp removed. • Seed. 5 of 21. Ardisia crispa (Thunb.) A. DC.: seed. • Fruit. 6 of 21. Myrsine africana L.: fruits. • Seed. 7 of 21. Myrsine africana L.: seeds. • Embryo. 8 of 21. Ardisia crispa (Thunb.) A. DC.: embryo. • Embryo. 9 of 21. Synardisia venosa (Mast.) Lundell: embryo. • Embryo. 10 of 21. Badula grammisticta (Cordemoy) M.J.E. Coode: embryo. • Embryo. 11 of 21. Conandium sp.: embryo. • Embryo. 12 of 21. Ctenardisia amplifolia (Standl.) Lundell: embryo. • Embryo. 13 of 21. Cybianthus lineatus (Benth.) Pipoly: embryo. • Embryo. 15 of 21. Discocalyx psychotrioides Elmer: embryo. • Embryo. 16 of 21. Elingamita johnsonii G. T. S. Baylis: embryo. • Embryo. 18 of 21. Oncostemum botryoides Baker: embryo. • Embryo. 19 of 21. Rapanea howittiana Mez: embryo. • Embryo. 21 of 21. Vegaea pungens Urb.: 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’.
