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Common name: Pitcher-plant Family.
Number of genera 3. Number of species 15.
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule a dehisced fruit, or a seed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels united. Fruit pericarpium; simple; capsule; loculicidal capsule; capsule not inflated; capsule without operculum; without persistent central column; not within accessory organ(s); many-seeded; many; less than 1 cm long to from 1–5 cm long; 0.8–2 cm long; Heliamphora 3(–6)-carpellate (3/5(-6)); with carpels united; with carpels remaining united at maturity; with carpels not radiating at maturity; without sterile carpels; not sulcate; in transection terete; apex not beaked; dehiscent. Dehiscent unit seed(s). Dehiscent and shedding seeds; without replum. Epicarp brown (all shades); dull; durable; glabrous (without hairs); without armature; smooth, or not smooth; densely tuberculate; 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. Seed larger than minute; less than 1 mm long; 1–2.5 mm long; circular, or reniform, or oval, or obovate; in transection flattened, or compressed; 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; dull (assumed); surface unsmooth; surface with discreet raised features, or merged raised features; surface glandular, or tuberculate; surface reticulate, or rugose, or 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, or pubescent (Darlingtonia); without glandular pubescence; without wings, or with wing(s) (Heliamphora); 1-winged; with wing encompassing seed; with wing(s) solid; with solid wing(s) similar to testa; without collar; without operculum; colored; monochrome; brown (all shades); crustaceous, or membranous; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Raphe conspicuous; texture as testa; as long as seed; included in dehisced fruit. Endosperm development cellular; fleshy-firm, or fleshy; smooth; with oils and proteins; 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); chamber central to wings; 0.1–0.8 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric, or basal; linear; straight; parallel to seed length; embedded in endosperm; with cotyledons gradually connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; moderately developed; 0.2–0.5 times length of embryo; as wide as hypocotyl-radicle; 1 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; not concealing hypocotyl-radicle; not foliaceous; thin; 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. North America, South America.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Darlingtonia Torr., nom. cons. -- Heliamphora Benth. -- Sarracenia L.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 370. McDaniel, S. 1971. The genus Sarracenia (Sarraceniaceae). Bull. Tall Timbers Res. Sta. 9:1–36.
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. and K. Prantl. 1924 and onward. Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilimien. W. Engelman, Leipzig, 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], Gray, A. 1848. Genera florae Americae boreali-orientalis illustrata, 2 vols. James Munroe and Co., Boston., 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, 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.
Illustrations
Acceptable fruit and seed illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): Cronquist, LeMaout & Decaisne. Seed illustration(s): Karen, Cronquist, Wood, Jr., Engler & Prantl, Gray, LeMaout & Decaisne, McDaniel (1971). Embryo illustration(s): Wood, Jr., Engler & Prantl, Gray, Karen, Martin. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 104: Darlingtonia californica Torr. (A-B), Heliamphora nutans (C-D), Sarracenia minor Walter (E-F).
• Fruit. 1 of 5. Sarracenia purpurea L.: fruit. • Seed. 2 of 5. Sarracenia purpurea L.: seeds. • Embryo. 3 of 5. Darlingtonia californica Torr.: embryo. • Embryo. 4 of 5. Heliamphora nutans Benth.: embryo. • Embryo. 5 of 5. Sarracenia minor Walter: 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’.
