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Common name: Rhynchocalyx Family.
Number of genera 1. Number of species 1 (Rhynchocalyx lawsonioides Oliver).
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule a dehisced fruit, or a seed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels nearly separate to base. Fruit pericarpium; simple; capsule; loculicidal capsule (assumed); capsule not inflated; capsule without operculum; without persistent central column; not within accessory organ(s); many-seeded; many; without sterile carpels; apex not beaked; dehiscent. Dehiscent unit seed(s). Dehiscent regularly (only upper one-half opening); passively; at apex (only); without replum. Epicarp durable; without armature; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Endocarp present; not separating from exocarp; thin; not splitting into 1-seeded pyrenes; 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; less than 1 mm long, or 1 to less than 5 mm long; 1 mm long; elliptic, or ovate; in transection flattened; not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s); without canavanine. Sarcotesta absent. Testa present; with markedly different marginal tissue; marginal tissue winglike; without fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; shiny; without glands; without bristles; glabrous; with wing(s); 1-winged; with wing on one side (& 2 times seed length); without collar; without operculum; colored; monochrome; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted. Raphe conspicuous (running lateral to wing margin).
Embryo differentiated from food reserve (assumed); well developed; without coleorhiza; with 2 or more cotyledons (assumed). Cotyledons 2 (assumed); equal in size; not punctate dotted.
Distribution
Old World. Africa (Natal).
Notes
Beusekom-Osinga & Beusekom (1975): "Fruit superior, more or less didymousm laterally compressed, glabrous, only the upper half dehiscent with 2 valves which at the top bear a half of the longitudinally split style and stigma. Seed depressed-ovoid; its wing elliptic-ovate, ca. 2 times longer than body of seed, thin, raphe running in lateral wing margin". Palmer & Punam (1972): "Fruit light, flattish capsule containing many tiny seeds, pea-sized, slightly beaked, clearly marked into the usual two divisions, light brown, much veined or ribbed, the tips splitting opne slightly to release a number of flat, thin, oval, shiny seeds, wind dispersed".
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Rhynchocalyx Oliv.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 629 (also see Lythraceae & Alzateaceae). Beusekom-Osinga, R.J. van & C.F. van Beusekom. 1975. Delimation and subdivisions of the Crypteroniaceae (Myrtales). Blumea 22:255–266; Palmer, E. & N. Pitman. 1972b. Trees of Southern Africa, vol 3. A.A. Balkema, Cape Town; Oliver, D., ed. 1895. Icon. pl. 24: pl. 2348.
General references
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.
Illustrations
Poor fruit and no seed illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo.
• Fruit. 1 of 3. Rhynchocalyx lawsonioides Oliv.: fruit. • Seed. 2 of 3. Rhynchocalyx lawsonioides Oliv.: seeds. • Embryo. 3 of 3. Rhynchocalyx lawsonioides Oliv.: 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’.
