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Synonyms: Aptandraceae Miers; Cathedraceae Tiegh., nom. inval.; Chaunochitonaceae Tiegh., nom. inval.; Coulaceae Tiegh., nom. inval.; Erythropalaceae Planch. ex Miq., nom. cons.; Harmandiaceae Tiegh.; Heisteriaceae Tiegh.; Octoknemaceae Tiegh., nom. cons.; Schoepfiaceae Blume; Scorodocarpaceae Tiegh.; Strombosiaceae Tiegh., nom. inval.; Tetrastylidiaceae Tiegh.; Ximeniaceae Horan.
Common name: Olax Family.
Number of genera 27. Number of species 200.
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule an intact or entire fruit.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels united. Fruit anthocarp, or pericarpium; simple; drupe; simple; glans, or pome (Spjut 4 families: Idiospermaceae, Olacaceae, Rhamnaceae, Rosaceae); without persistent central column; within accessory organ(s), or not within accessory organ(s); within calyx (fleshy enlarged, entire, yellow to orange), or receptacle; accrescent; persistent; 1-seeded (usually); 1-seeded (usually); (2–)3(–5)-carpellate; with carpels united; with carpels remaining united at maturity; with carpels not radiating at maturity; without sterile carpels; not sulcate; apex not beaked; indehiscent. Epicarp blue, or yellow, or orange; durable; glabrous (without hairs); without armature; smooth, or not smooth; 6–10 ribbed (Octoknenum); without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp present. Endocarp present; not separating from exocarp; thin, or hard; not splitting into 1-seeded pyrenes; stone 1-loculate; 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 (assumed); not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s); at maturity with food reserves, or without food reserves; with endosperm; without canavanine. Sarcotesta absent. Testa present; 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; thin; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding embryo, or surrounding food reserve. Endosperm development cellular, or helobial; copious; fleshy; smooth, or ruminate (more or less in Octoknenum); without starch, or with starch (Coula); with oils; without fatty acid containing cyclopropene; or partite; without chlorophyll; without isodiametric faceted surface; without odor.
Embryo barely differentiated differentiated from food reserve, or undifferentiated from food reserve; well developed; 1 per seed; partially filling testa (with food reserve); 0.2–0.3 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric; foliate; straight; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons, or acotyledonous. Cotyledons 2 to 6; up to 0.6 times length of embryo; somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle; flat; smooth; with apices entire; with margins separate; basally entire; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle moderately developed to well developed; not thickened.
Distribution
Cosmopolitan. New World, Old World. North America, Middle America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia Major, Asia Minor, southeastern Asia, Australia, Oceania.
Notes
Goldberg in addition recognized Aptendraceae, Erythropalaceae, Octoknemaceae. We cannot convert "endosperm partite" (Aptandra, Gomphandra, etc) into this data base.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
ISTA listed seeds.
ISTA listed seeds: -- Ongokea gore (Hua) Pierre -- 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
Anacolosa (Blume) Blume -- Aptandra Miers -- Brachynema Benth., nom. cons. -- Cathedra Miers -- Chaunochiton Benth. -- Coula Baill. -- Curupira G. A. Black -- Diogoa Exell & Mendonça -- Douradoa Sleumer -- Dulacia Vell. -- Erythropalum Blume -- Harmandia Pierre -- Heisteria Jacq., nom. cons. -- Malania Chun & S. K. Lee -- Minquartia Aubl. -- Ochanostachys Mast. -- Octoknema Pierre -- Olax L. -- Ongokea Pierre -- Phanerodiscus Cavaco -- Ptychopetalum Benth. -- Schoepfia Schreb. -- Scorodocarpus Becc. -- Strombosia Blume -- Strombosiopsis Engl. -- Tetrastylidium Engl. -- Ximenia L.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 681.
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, 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, Roosmalen, M.G.M. van. 1985. Fruits of the Guianan flora, 483 pp. Institute of Systematic Botany, Wageningen Agricultural University. Drukkerij Veenman B.V., Wageningen, Spjut, R.W. 1994. A systematic treatment of fruit types. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 70:1–182.
Illustrations
Poor fruit and no seed illsutrations. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit. Fruit illustration(s): Roosmalen, Cronquist.
• Fruit. 1 of 7. Olax stricta R. Br.: fruit. • Seed. 2 of 7. Olax stricta R. Br.: seed. • Fruit. 3 of 7. Ptychopetalum uncinatum Anselmino: fruit. • Seed. 4 of 7. Ptychopetalum uncinatum Anselmino: seed. • Fruit. 5 of 7. Ximenia americana L.: fruit. • Seed. 6 of 7. Ximenia americana L.: seed. • Embryo. 7 of 7. Chaunochiton loranthoides Benth.: 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’.
