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Synonyms: Achradaceae Vest; Boerlagellaceae H. J. Lam; Bumeliaceae Barnhart; Sarcospermataceae H. J. Lam, nom. cons.
Common name: Sapodilla Family.
Number of genera 53. Number of species 1100.
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; amphisarcum, or berry, or drupe (Praclosia), or capsule (not Spjut & type of fruit unknown - see Goldberg); berry indehiscent; berry without central placental mass; simple; glans; without persistent central column; within accessory organ(s); within cupule (woody); 1-seeded (to saveral); 1-seeded (to several); 2(–30)-carpellate (2–24(-30)); 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; indehiscent, or dehiscent. Dehiscent and shedding seeds; without replum. Epicarp yellow, or purple, or black; durable; not glabrous (with hairs), or glabrous (without hairs); hairs not glandular; without armature; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp present; fleshy; composed of 1 unified layer; without lactiform cavity system; and endocarp sharply differentiated. Endocarp present, or absent; not separating from exocarp; cartilaginous, or thin, or hard; 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; 1 to less than 5 mm long to 50+ mm long; 5–50 mm long; circular, or elliptic; in transection triangular (more or less); not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s); at maturity with food reserves, or without food reserves, or without apparent food reserves; with endosperm; without canavanine. Sarcotesta absent. Testa present, or absent (partially); adnate to epicarp (if testa not smooth then frequently testa partially adherent to pericarp); without embryo surrounded and capped by viscid tissue; without markedly different marginal tissue; without fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; tight; shiny, or dull; surface smooth, or unsmooth; surface with depressed features, or merged raised features; surface pitted; surface wrinkled; 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 (ish); bony, or crustaceous, or thick; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve, or surrounding embryo. Hilum larger than punctate (to as long as seed); linear, or oblong. Endosperm copious; fleshy, or hard; smooth; 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 (occasionally many); completely filling testa (no food reserve) to 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; linear, or foliate; with spatulate cotyledons; straight; oblique to seed length, or parallel to seed length, or transverse 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; 0.5–0.9 times length of embryo; as wide as hypocotyl-radicle, or somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle; 4.5–7 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; foliaceous, or not foliaceous; thin, or thick; flat; smooth, or ruminate (rarely); with apices entire; with margins separate, or connate; basally entire; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle small, or moderately developed; straight; 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
ISTA listed seeds.
ISTA listed seeds: -- Argania spinosa (L.) Skeels -- Chrysophyllum cainito L. -- Madhuca longifolia (L.) J. F. Macbr. -- Mimusops heckelii (Pierre ex A. Chev.) Hutch. & Dalziel = Tieghemella heckelii Pierre ex A. Chev. -- Palaquium gutta (Hook.) Baill. -- Tieghemella heckelii Pierre ex A. Chev. -- Vitellaria paradoxa C. F. Gaertn. -- 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
Argania Roem. & Schult., nom. cons. -- Aubregrinia Heine -- Aulandra H. J. Lam -- Autranella A. Chev. -- Baillonella Pierre -- Breviea Aubrév. & Pellegr. -- Burckella Pierre -- Capurodendron Aubrév. -- Chromolucuma Ducke -- Chrysophyllum L. -- Delpydora Pierre -- Diploknema Pierre -- Diploon Cronquist -- Eberhardtia Lecomte -- Ecclinusa Mart. -- Elaeoluma Baill. -- Englerophytum K. Krause -- Faucherea Lecomte -- Gluema Aubrév. & Pellegr. -- Inhambanella (Engl.) Dubard -- Isonandra Wight -- Labourdonnaisia Bojer -- Labramia A. DC. -- Lecomtedoxa (Pierre ex Engl.) Dubard -- Leptostylis Benth. -- Letestua Lecomte -- Madhuca Ham. ex J. F. Gmel. -- Magodendron Vink -- Manilkara Adans., nom. cons. -- Micropholis (Griseb.) Pierre -- Mimusops L. -- Neohemsleya T. D. Penn. -- Neolemonniera Heine -- Nesoluma Baill. -- Niemeyera F. Muell., nom. cons. -- Northia Hook. f. -- Omphalocarpum P. Beauv. -- Palaquium Blanco -- Payena A. DC. -- Pichonia Pierre -- Pouteria Aubl. -- Pradosia Liais -- Pycnandra Benth. -- Sarcaulus Radlk. -- Sarcosperma Hook. f. -- Sideroxylon L. -- Synsepalum (A. DC.) Daniell -- Tieghemella Pierre -- Tridesmostemon Engl. -- Tsebona Capuron -- Vitellaria C. F. Gaertn. -- Vitellariopsis Baill. ex Dubard -- Xantolis Raf.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 496. Baehni, C. 1965. Mémoire sur les Sapotacées. III. Inventaire des genres. Boissiera 11:1–262; Pennington, T.D. 1990. Sapotaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 52:1–770.
General references
Corner, E.J.H. 1976. The seeds of Dicots, esp. vol. 2. Cambridge 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, 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, 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, Schopmeyer, C.S. 1974. Seeds of Woody plants in the United States. Agric. Handb. 450:1–883, 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): Roosmalen, Engler & Prantl, Gaertner. Seed illustration(s): Engler & Prantl, Baehni (1965), Gaertner, Schopmeyer, Gunn & Dennis. Embryo illustration(s): Engler & Prantl, LeMaout & Decaisne, Gaertner, Schopmeyer, Martin.
• Fruit. 1 of 11. Madhuca longifolia (L.) J. F. Macbr.: fruit. • Seed. 2 of 11. Madhuca longifolia (L.) J. F. Macbr.: seed. • Seed. 3 of 11. Manilkara zapota (L.) P. Royen: seed. • Seed. 4 of 11. Pouteria sapota (Jacq.) H. E. Moore & Stearn: seed. • Seed. 5 of 11. Pouteria sapota (Jacq.) H. E. Moore & Stearn: seed. • Fruit. 6 of 11. Sarcosperma laurinum Hook. F.: fruit. • Seed. 7 of 11. Sarcosperma laurinum Hook. F.: seed. • Fruit. 8 of 11. Sideroxylon salicifolium (L.) Lam.: fruit. • Seed. 9 of 11. Sideroxylon salicifolium (L.) Lam.: seed. • Seed. 10 of 11. Synsepalum dulcificum (Schumach. & Thonn.) Daniell: seed. • Embryo. 11 of 11. Sideroxylon lanuginosum Michx.: 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’.
