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Synonyms: Candolleaceae F. Muell., nom. illeg.
Common name: Trigger-plant Family.
Number of genera 5. Number of species 170.
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; simple; camara, or capsule; Spjut & correct for 3-carpellate F septifragal capsule, or loculicidal capsule (when 1 carpel aborts); capsule not inflated; capsule without operculum; without persistent central column; not within accessory organ(s); few to many-seeded; few to many; 2-carpellate; with carpels united; with carpels remaining united at maturity; with carpels not radiating at maturity; with carpels remaining connected at style; with sterile carpels, or without sterile carpels; not sulcate; in transection terete; apex not beaked; dehiscent (& tardily for Oreostylidium), or indehiscent (Phyllachne). Dehiscent unit seed(s). Dehiscent passively; and shedding seeds; without replum. Epicarp durable; not glabrous (with hairs); hairs 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 minute; 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; 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; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Endosperm development cellular; copious; fleshy; smooth; without starch; with oils; without fatty acid containing cyclopropene; without apical lobes; without chlorophyll; without isodiametric faceted surface; without odor.
Embryo differentiated from food reserve, or undifferentiated from food reserve; rudimentary; 1 per seed; partially filling testa (with food reserve); 0.06 times the length of food reserve (barely differentiated); at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; miniature; 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, or acotyledonous. Cotyledons 2; tiny; as wide as hypocotyl-radicle; not concealing hypocotyl-radicle; not foliaceous; smooth; with apices entire; basally entire; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle small; straight; not thickened.
Distribution
Old World and New World. Tierra del Fuego South America, southeastern Asia, and Australia.
Notes
Spjut did not cover this family.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Forstera L. f. -- Levenhookia R. Br. -- Oreostylidium J. Berggr. -- Phyllachne J. R. Forst. & G. Forst. -- Stylidium Sw. ex Willd., nom. cons.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 986. Carlquist, S. 1969. Studies in Stylidiaceae: New taxa, field observations, evolutionary tendencies. Aliso 7:13–64.
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. 1900–1953. Das Pflanzenreich, nos. 1–107. Facsimile edition. Engelmann-Cramer, Weinheim, 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, 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.
Illustrations
Acceptable fruit and seed illustrations. Cronquist has no illustration. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): LeMaout & Decaisne, Engler. Embryo illustration(s): LeMaout & Decaisne.
• Fruit. 1 of 4. Stylidium graminifolium Willd.: fruit with calyx and floral parts. • Seed. 2 of 4. Stylidium graminifolium Willd.: seed cluster. • Seed. 3 of 4. Stylidium graminifolium Willd.: seeds. • Embryo. 4 of 4. Candollea cuneiformis (Labill.) Smith: 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’.
