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Synonyms: Averrhoaceae Hutch.; Hypseocharitaceae Wedd.
Common name: Wood-sorrel Family.
Number of genera 7. Number of species 575.
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, or schizocarp; capsule, or berry (Averrhoa, Sarcotheca & 5-lobed)); which one for Biophytum; fissuricidal capsule, or loculicidal capsule (sometimes appearing septicidal because of deep septal folds); capsule not inflated; capsule without operculum; berry indehiscent; berry without central placental mass; without persistent central column; not within accessory organ(s); (3–)5-carpellate; with carpels united; with carpels remaining united at maturity; with carpels not radiating at maturity; with carpels remaining connected at style; without sterile carpels; not sulcate; in transection terete; apex not beaked; dehiscent (cupule), or indehiscent (berry). Dehiscent unit seed(s). Dehiscent regularly; actively; explosively, or elastically; with valves coiling; at apex; and shedding seeds; without replum. Epicarp durable; glabrous (without hairs), or not glabrous (with hairs); hairs short; hairs not glandular; without armature; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp present, or absent; fleshy; composed of 1 unified layer; without lactiform cavity system. Endocarp present, or absent; not separating from exocarp; thin; not splitting into 1-seeded pyrenes; smooth; 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 Dapania present, or absent; a true aril; white to yellow; well developed; adnate to hilum; fleshy; of funicular origin; basal; aids in seed explusion from fruit; fleshy; cupshaped, or bilabiate. Seed minute; 5 to less than 10 mm long; 6–10 mm long; oblong, or mitaform; in transection compressed; not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s); at maturity with food reserves, or without apparent food reserves (rarely); with endosperm; without canavanine. Sarcotesta absent. Testa present; without markedly different marginal tissue; without fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; tight; dull; surface unsmooth; surface with merged raised features; surface reticulate, or ribbed (transversely); without crease or line separating cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle, or with crease or line separating cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle; without notch along margin where cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle tip approach each other, or with notch along margin where cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle tip approaching each other; without glands; without bristles; glabrous; without wings; without collar; without operculum; colored; monochrome; brown (all shades), or black (ish); crustaceous; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted, or becoming mucilaginous when wetted (Biophyllum, Oxalis); surrounding food reserve. Endosperm development nuclear; copious, or moderate; fleshy; smooth, or ruminate (sub- for Biophytum & Oxalis); without starch (assumed); 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); 0.9 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric; foliate; with spatulate cotyledons; straight, or arcuate (sub in Hypseocharis); parallel to seed length; embedded in endosperm; with cotyledons abruptly connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; well developed; 0.5–0.7 times length of embryo; somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle; 2.4–2.5 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; not concealing hypocotyl-radicle; thin; flat; smooth; with apices entire; with margins connate; basally entire; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle well developed, or moderately developed; coiled, or curved; not thickened.
Distribution
Cosmopolitan. New World, Old World. North America, Middle America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia Major, Asia Minor, southeastern Asia, Australia, Oceania.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
ASOA listed seeds, ISTA listed seeds.
ASOA listed seeds: -- Oxalis L. spp. -- Oxalis stricta L. -- Last updated September 2008.
ISTA listed seeds: -- Averrhoa bilimbi L. -- Averrhoa carambola L. -- Biophytum sensitivum (L.) DC. -- Oxalis acetosella L. -- Oxalis corniculata L.w -- Oxalis tuberosa Molina -- 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
Averrhoa L. -- Biophytum DC. -- Dapania Korth. -- Hypseocharis J. Rémy -- Oxalis L. -- Sarcotheca Blume
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 826 (also see Lepidobotryaceae). Robertson, K.R. 1975. The Oxalidaceae in the southeastern United States. J. Arnold Arbor. 56:223–239.
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. and C.A. Ritchie. 1988. Identification of disseminules listed in the Federal Noxious Weed Act. Techn. Bull. U.S.D.A. 1719:1–313, 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
Acceptable fruit and seed illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): Cronquist, Baillon, Engler & Prantl, Robertson (1975). Seed illustration(s): Robertson (1975), Cronquist, Baillon, Karen. Embryo illustration(s): Baillon, Engler & Prantl, Gunn & Ritchie, Martin, Corner, Karen. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 264: Averrhoa crambola L. (A-C), Biophytum sp. (D-F), Dapania racemosa Korth. (G-I), Hypseocharis corydalifolia Knuth (J-L), Oxalis rosea Feuillee ex Jacq. (M-O), Sarcotheca sp. (P-R).
• Seed. 1 of 7. Averrhoa carambola L.: seed. • Seed. 2 of 7. Oxalis corniculata L. var. atropurpurea Planch.: seeds. • Embryo. 3 of 7. Averrhoa carambola L.: embryo. • Embryo. 5 of 7. Dapania racemosa Korth.: embryo. • Embryo. 6 of 7. Hypseocharis pimpinellifolius J Remy: embryo. • Embryo. 7 of 7. Sarcotheca sp.: 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’.
