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Synonyms: Anarthriaceae D. F. Cutler & Airy Shaw; Ecdeiocoleaceae D. F. Cutler & Airy Shaw
Common name: Restio Family.
Number of genera 39. Number of species 400.
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, or anthocarp; simple; capsule; fissuricidal capsule, or loculicidal capsule; capsule not inflated; capsule without operculum; simple; diclesium; without persistent central column; with styles(s); at apex; within accessory organ(s); within perianth; persistent; 1-seeded to more than 1 but less than 10-seeded; 1–3-seeded; 1–3-carpellate (really 3–1); 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, or triangular; apex not beaked; indehiscent, or dehiscent. Dehiscent and shedding seeds; without replum. Epicarp brown (all shades), or black; durable; glabrous (without hairs); without armature; smooth; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp absent. 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, or present (Cannomois, Hypodiscus, Willdenowia); an arillike structure. Arillike structure falling with seed an elaisome (basal). Seed larger than minute; less than 1 mm long, or 1 to less than 5 mm long; 1–2.8 mm long; in transection terete, or triangular; not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s); at maturity with food reserves; with endosperm; without canavanine. Sarcotesta absent. Testa present; without markedly different marginal tissue; without fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; tight; surface unsmooth, or smooth; surface with depressed features, or discreet raised features, or merged raised features; surface punctate; surface tuberculate; surface colliculate, or reticulate, 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; brown (all shades), or black, or gray, or red, or white; coriaceous, or hard, or crustaceous, or membranous (rarely); not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Endosperm development nuclear; copious; mealy; smooth; with starch; with compound starch grains; without fatty acid containing cyclopropene; without apical lobes; without chlorophyll; without isodiametric faceted surface; without odor.
Embryo differentiated from food reserve; rudimentary; 1 per seed; partially filling testa (with food reserve); 0.1 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; lenticular; capping one end of endosperm; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 1 cotyledon. Cotyledons one and not circinately coiled. Hypocotyl-radicle undeveloped.
Distribution
Southern Hemisphere. New World, Old World. 1 sp. South America, Africa, southeastern Asia, Australia, and Oceania (to New Zealand).
Notes
Embryo 4–5 times wider than long.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Alexgeorgea Carlquist -- Anarthria R. Br. -- Anthochortus Nees -- Askidiosperma Steud. -- Calopsis P. Beauv. ex Desv. -- Calorophus Labill. -- Cannomois P. Beauv. ex Desv. -- Ceratocaryum Nees -- Chaetanthus R. Br. -- Chondropetalum Rottb. -- Coleocarya S. T. Blake -- Dielsia Gilg -- Dovea Kunth -- Ecdeiocolea F. Muell. -- Elegia L. -- Empodisma L. A. S. Johnson & D. F. Cutler -- Harperia W. Fitzg. -- Hopkinsia W. Fitzg. -- Hydrophilus H. P. Linder -- Hypodiscus Nees, nom. cons. -- Hypolaena R. Br., nom. cons. -- Ischyrolepis Steud. -- Lepidobolus Nees -- Leptocarpus R. Br., nom. cons. -- Lepyrodia R. Br. -- Loxocarya R. Br. -- Lyginia R. Br., nom. cons. -- Mastersiella Gilg-Ben. -- Meeboldina Suess. -- Megalotheca F. Muell. -- Nevillea Esterh. & H. P. Linder -- Onychosepalum Steud. -- Platycaulos H. P. Linder -- Restio Rottb., nom. cons. -- Rhodocoma Nees -- Sporadanthus F. Muell. -- Staberoha Kunth -- Thamnochortus P. J. Bergius -- Willdenowia Thunb. -- Winifredia L. A. S. Johnson & B. G. Briggs
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 1122. Linder, H.P. 1985. Conspectus of the African species of Restionaceae. Bothalia 15(3–4):387–503.
General references
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, 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, Spjut, R.W. 1994. A systematic treatment of fruit types. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 70:1–182.
Illustrations
Poor fruit and acceptable seed illustrations. Cronquist has no illustration. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): LeMaout & Decaisne. Seed illustration(s): LeMaout & Decaisne. Embryo illustration(s): LeMaout & Decaisne.
• Fruit. 1 of 12. Anarthria scabra R. Br.: fruit with scales. • Seed. 2 of 12. Anarthria scabra R. Br.: seeds. • Fruit. 3 of 12. Chondropetalum microcarpum (Kunth) Pillans: dehisced fruit with scales. • Seed. 4 of 12. Chondropetalum microcarpum (Kunth) Pillans: seeds with arils. • Seed. 5 of 12. Chondropetalum microcarpum (Kunth) Pillans: seeds with aril removed. • Seed. 6 of 12. Coleocarya gracilis S. T. Blake: seeds. • Fruit. 7 of 12. Restio amblycoleus F. Muell.: fruiting head. • Seed. 8 of 12. Restio amblycoleus F. Muell.: seeds. • Fruit. 9 of 12. Willdenowia teres Thunb.: fruit. • Fruit. 10 of 12. Willdenowia teres Thunb.: fruit with scales. • Seed. 11 of 12. Willdenowia teres Thunb.: seed. • Embryo. 12 of 12. Restio 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’.
