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Common name: Stetchellanthus Family.
Number of genera 1. Number of species 1 (Setchellanthus caeruleus Brandegee).
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; more than 1 but less than 10-seeded to 25 to less than 50-seeded; 6–30-seeded; from 1–5 cm long to from 5.1–10 cm long; (3–)4(–9) cm long ((3-)4–8(-9)); 3-carpellate; with carpels united; with carpels remaining united at maturity; with carpels remaining connected at style; without sterile carpels; not sulcate; apex beaked; apex very short beaked; wall chartaceous; dehiscent. Dehiscent unit seed(s). Dehiscent passively; linearly; by dorsal sutures and ventral sutures; at apex; and shedding seeds; without replum. Epicarp brown (all shades); dull; durable; not glabrous (with hairs); hairs short; hairs dense (assumed); hairs not glandular; without armature; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. 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; 5 to less than 10 mm long to 10 to less than 25 mm long; 7–11 mm long; oblong; in transection flattened; not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s); at maturity without apparent food reserves (essentially because 1-cell thick), or with food reserves; with endosperm; without canavanine. Sarcotesta absent. Testa present; with markedly different marginal tissue; marginal tissue winglike; without fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; tight; surface unsmooth; surface with merged raised features; surface wrinkled; with 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; with wing(s) (thin wing longer than seed); 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); fleshy (soft pithlike); not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding embryo (endosperm 1-celled thick). Endosperm scant, or trace (1-celled thick); 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); chamber central to wings; 1 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; foliate; with investing cotyledons; straight; parallel to seed length; with cotyledons abruptly connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; well developed; not divaricate; 0.7 times length of embryo; as wide as hypocotyl-radicle; 1 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; partially concealing hypocotyl-radicle; flat; smooth; with apices entire; with margins separate; basally cordate; equal in size; not punctate dotted.
Distribution
New World. Middle America (Mexico).
Notes
See also Capparaceae.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Setchellanthus Brandegee
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 443 (Cronquist & Mabberley have in Capparaceae). Iltis, H.H. 1999. Setchellanthaceae (Capparales), a new family for a relictual, glucosinolate-producing endemic of the Mexican deserts. Taxon 48:257–275; Tobe, H., S. Carlquist, & H.H. Iltis. 1999. Reproductive anatomy and relationships of Setchellantus caeruleus (Setchellanthaceae). Taxon 48:277–283.
Illustrations
Excellent fruit and seed illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed. Fruit illustration(s): Iltis (1999). Seed illustration(s): Iltis (1999).
• Fruit. 1 of 2. Setchellanthus caeuruleus T. S. Brandeg.: fruit. • Embryo. 2 of 2. Setchellanthus caeuruleus T. S. Brandeg.: 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’.
