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Synonyms: Cobaeaceae D. Don
Common name: Phlox Family.
Number of genera 19. Number of species 275.
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; capsule; septifragal capsule, or septicidal capsule (Cobaea), or loculicidal capsule; capsule not inflated; capsule without operculum; without persistent central column; within accessory organ(s); within calyx; 1-seeded to many-seeded; 1-seeded (to many); less than 1 cm long to from 1–5 cm long; 0.7–1.5 cm long; (2–)3(–4)-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 beaked (not enough pictures to answer & more); wall membranaceous, or woody, or fleshy; dehiscent, or indehiscent (rarely & unknown genus & fruit not scored by Spjut). Dehiscent unit seed(s). Dehiscent actively; elastically; and shedding seeds; without replum. Epicarp durable; not glabrous (with hairs); hairs not glandular; without armature; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Endocarp present; 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 absent. Seed larger than minute, or minute; less than 1 mm long to 5 to less than 10 mm long; 6–7 mm long; sectoral shape, or irregular, or ovate, or elliptic, or angular; in transection compressed, or flattened; not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s); at maturity with food reserves, or without apparent food reserves (Cobaea, Cantua, Blonplandia); with endosperm; without canavanine. Sarcotesta absent. Testa present; without markedly different marginal tissue; without fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; tight; surface unsmooth; surface with depressed features, or merged raised features; surface 1- grooved; surface rugose; 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, or with wing(s) (Cobaea, Acanthogilia); 1-winged; with wing encompassing seed; with wing(s) tiny & membranous; without collar; without operculum; colored; monochrome; brown (all shades); becoming mucilaginous when wetted, or not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Endosperm development nuclear; copious; fleshy to fleshy-firm; smooth; some with starch, or 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), or completely filling testa (no food reserve); chamber central to wings; 0.9 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric; foliate, or linear; with spatulate cotyledons; straight, or C-shaped (slightly); parallel to seed length; embedded in endosperm; with cotyledons abruptly connected to hypocotyl-radicle, or gradually connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; well developed, or moderately developed; 0.3–0.6 times length of embryo; somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle, or as wide as hypocotyl-radicle; 1–2.8 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; foliaceous, or not foliaceous; thin, or moderately thick; flat; smooth; with apices entire; with margins separate; basally entire; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle well developed; straight; not thickened.
Distribution
New World, Old World. North America, Middle America, South America, Europe, Asia Major.
Notes
Whole capsule disarticulating on dehiscence Loeseliastrum.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
ASOA listed seeds, ISTA listed seeds.
ASOA listed seeds: -- Cobaea scandens Cav. -- Collomia gracilis (Hook.) Douglas ex Benth. = Microsteris gracilis (Hook.) Greene -- Collomia grandiflora Douglas ex Lindl. -- Collomia linearis Nutt. -- Gilia capitata Sims -- Gilia leptantha subsp. purpusii (Milliken) A. D. Grant & V. E. Grant -- Gilia rubra (L.) A. Heller = Ipomopsis rubra (L.) Wherry -- Gilia Ruiz & Pav. spp. -- Gilia tricolor Benth. -- Ipomopsis aggregata (Pursh) V. E. Grant -- Ipomopsis rubra (L.) Wherry -- Microsteris gracilis (Hook.) Greene -- Navarretia intertexta (Benth.) Hook. -- Navarretia squarrosa (Eschsch.) Hook. & Arn. -- Phlox drummondii Hook. -- Phlox L. spp. -- Polemonium micranthum Benth. -- Polemonium L. spp. -- Last updated September 2008.
ISTA listed seeds: -- Cobaea scandens Cav.f -- Gilia capitata Sims -- Gilia tricolor Benth.f -- Phlox drummondii Hook.f -- Phlox paniculata L.f -- Phlox subulata L.f -- Polemonium caeruleum L. -- 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
Acanthogilia A. G. Day & Moran -- Allophyllum (Nutt.) A. D. Grant & V. E. Grant -- Bonplandia Cav. -- Cantua J. Juss. ex Lam. -- Cobaea Cav. -- Collomia Nutt. -- Eriastrum Wooton & Standl. -- Gilia Ruiz & Pav. -- Gymnosteris Greene -- Huthia Brand -- Ipomopsis Michx. -- Langloisia Greene -- Lathrocasis L. A. Johnson -- Leptodactylon Hook. & Arn. -- Linanthus Benth. -- Loeselia L. -- Maculigilia V. E. Grant -- Microsteris Greene -- Navarretia Ruiz & Pav. -- Phlox L. -- Polemonium L. -- Tintinabulum Rydb.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 903. Day, A.G. & R. Moran. 1986. Acanthogilia, a new genus of Polemoniaceae from Baja California, Mexico. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 44:111–126.
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, Engler, A. 1900–1953. Das Pflanzenreich, nos. 1–107. Facsimile edition. Engelmann-Cramer, Weinheim, 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, 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
Poor fruit and seed illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): Cronquist, LeMaout & Decaisne, Day & Moran (1986). Seed illustration(s): LeMaout & Decaisne, Day & Moran (1986). Embryo illustration(s): LeMaout & Decaisne, Martin.
• Seed. 1 of 6. Phlox pilosa L.: seeds. • Fruit. 2 of 6. Polemonium vanbruntiae Britton: fruits with calyx. • Seed. 3 of 6. Polemonium vanbruntiae Britton: seeds. • Embryo. 4 of 6. Cobaea penduliflora (Karsten) Hook.: embryo. • Embryo. 5 of 6. Phlox maculata L.: embryo. • Embryo. 6 of 6. Polemonium caeruleum L.: 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’.
