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Synonyms: Diclidantheraceae J. Agardh, nom. cons.; Moutabeaceae Endl.; Xanthophyllaceae Gagnep. ex Reveal & Hoogland
Common name: Milkwort Family.
Number of genera 18. Number of species 1043.
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule a dehisced fruit, or an intact or entire fruit, or a seed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) 1; 1-pistillate. Fruit pericarpium; simple; berry, or capsule, or urticle, or samara, or carcerulus (Xanthophyllum); loculicidal capsule; capsule not inflated; capsule without operculum; berry indehiscent; berry without central placental mass; without persistent central column; within accessory organ(s), or not within accessory organ(s); 1-seeded to more than 1 but less than 10-seeded; 1–2-seeded; from 1–5 cm long; up to 5 cm long; 2–5-carpellate (7–8 Eriandra); 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, or indehiscent. Dehiscent unit seed(s). Dehiscent and shedding seeds; without replum. Epicarp durable; without armature; without wing(s), or with wing(s) (Securidaca); 1-winged; with wing(s) apical; without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp present, or absent. 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 Polygala present, or absent; a true aril, or an arillike structure; red, or white, or orange, or yellow (pale); well developed, or vestigal; adnate to hilum; fleshy, or dry; of funicular origin, or micropylar origin; basal; does not aid in seed explusion from fruit, or aids in seed explusion from fruit; fleshy, or hard; cupshaped, or fimbriate-laciniate, or saccate (nearly); with straight hairlike fringe; lobed, or unlobed. Arillike structure falling with seed a caruncle (Corner). Seed larger than minute; 1 to less than 5 mm long; 3–5 mm long; circular, or ovate; in transection terete; not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; at maturity with food reserves, or without food reserves, or without apparent food reserves; with endosperm; without canavanine. Sarcotesta absent. Testa present, or absent (indehiscent genera: Monnina, Moutabea, Securidea, Xanthophyllum); without embryo surrounded and capped by viscid tissue; without markedly different marginal tissue; without fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; tight; dull; surface unsmooth; surface with discreet raised features, or merged raised features; surface papillate; surface reticulate, or 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; pubescent, or glabrous; with hairs over surface; sparsely hairy, or moderately hairy, or densely hairy; with straight hairs; without glandular pubescence; without wings; without collar; without operculum; colored; monochrome; black, or brown (all shades); crustaceous; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve, or surrounding embryo. Endosperm development nuclear; copious; fleshy (or mucilaginous); smooth; with starch, or without starch; with proteins and 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; completely filling testa (no food reserve), or partially filling testa (with food reserve), or nearly filling testa (trace or scanty food reserve); 1 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, or investing cotyledons (Xanthophyllum); straight; parallel to seed length; embedded in endosperm; with cotyledons abruptly connected to hypocotyl-radicle, or gradually connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; with cotyledons containing oils (when endosperm absent); without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; well developed; 0.5–0.8 times length of embryo; somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle; 1.5–3 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; not concealing hypocotyl-radicle; thin, or moderately thick, or massive; flat, or controtiplicate (conduplicate Emblingia); smooth; with apices entire; with margins separate; basally entire; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle moderately developed; straight; not thickened.
Distribution
Cosmopolitan (except New Zealand, Polyenisa & Arctic). New World, Old World. North America, Middle America, South America, Europe, Asia Major, Asia Minor, southeastern Asia, Australia.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
ASOA listed seeds, ISTA listed seeds.
ASOA listed seeds: -- Polygala L. spp. -- Last updated September 2008.
ISTA listed seeds: -- Polygala senega 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
Atroxima Stapf -- Balgoya Morat & Meijden -- Barnhartia Gleason -- Bredemeyera Willd. -- Carpolobia G. Don -- Comesperma Labill. -- Diclidanthera Mart. -- Epirixanthes Blume -- Eriandra P. Royen & Steenis -- Monnina Ruiz & Pav. -- Monrosia Grondona -- Moutabea Aubl. -- Muraltia DC., nom. cons. -- Nylandtia Dumort. -- Polygala L. -- Pteromonnina B. Eriksen -- Salomonia Lour., nom. cons. -- Securidaca L., nom. cons. -- Xanthophyllum Roxb., nom. cons.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 775 (including 778: Xanthophyllaceae & Mabberley; also see Emblingiaceae). Chodat, R. 1891–1893. Monographia Polygalacearum. Mém. Soc. Phys. Genève 31(1) suppl.:1–143, pls. 1–12, 32(2) suppl.:1–500, pls. 13–35; Verkerke, W. 1985. Ovules and seeds of the Polygalaceae. J. Arnold Arbor. 66:353–394; Verkerke, W. & P. Bouman. 1980. Ovule ontogeny and its relationship to seed-coat structure in some species of Polygala (Polygalaceae). Bot. Gaz. 141:277–282.
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, 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, Wood, C.E., Jr. 1974. A student's atlas of flowering plants: Some dicotyledons of eastern North America, 120 pp. Harper and Row, New York, Mirle, C. and R.J. Burnham. 1999. Identification of asymmetrically winged samaras from the Western Hemisphere. Brittonia 51:1–14.
Illustrations
Acceptable fruit and seed illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): LeMaout & Decaisne, Roosmalen, Pflanzenfam., Baillon, Karen. Seed illustration(s): LeMaout & Decaisne, Wood, Jr., Baillon, Chodat (1893). Embryo illustration(s): Karen, LeMaout & Decaisne, Wood, Jr., Baillon, Verkerke (1985). Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 247: Xanthophyllum excelsum Blume ex Miq. (A-B).
• Fruit. 1 of 9. Diclidanthera elliptica Miers: fruit. • Seed. 2 of 9. Diclidanthera elliptica Miers: seed. • Fruit. 3 of 9. Polygala cowellii (Britton) S. F. Blake: fruit. • Seed. 4 of 9. Polygala cowellii (Britton) S. F. Blake: seed. • Fruit. 5 of 9. Securidaca sylvestris Schltdl.: fruit. • Seed. 6 of 9. Securidaca sylvestris Schltdl.: seed. • Fruit. 7 of 9. Xanthophyllum excelsum (Bl.) Miq.: fruit. • Seed. 8 of 9. Xanthophyllum excelsum (Bl.) Miq.: seed. • Embryo. 9 of 9. Xanthophyllum excelsum (Bl.) Miq.: 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’.
