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Synonyms: Amentotaxaceae Kudo & Yamam.; Austrotaxaceae Nakai ex Takht. & Reveal; Torreyaceae Nakai
Common name: Yew Family.
Number of genera 5. Number of species 18.
Gymnosperm.
Disseminule a cone, or a seed.
Cones
Cone fleshy; anarillocarpium when fleshy (Spjut Fig. 10A&B & 2 families: Cephalotaxaceae, Taxaceae).
Seeds
Aril present; a true aril; red (bright Taxus), or green, or black, or blue (blue-black or purple-green Torreya), or white; well developed; adnate to hilum; fleshy (or glutinous); of funicular origin; basal, or encompassing; fleshy; cupshaped; unlobed. Seed larger than minute; 1 to less than 5 mm long to 5 to less than 10 mm long; 0.5 mm long (at least); oblong; in transection terete; 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; shiny; surface smooth, or unsmooth; surface with merged raised features; surface reticulate; 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 green (ish); bony; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Endosperm copious; opaque; smooth, or ruminate (Torreya); without starch, or with starch (Taxus); 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); 0.1–0.5 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric; foliate, or linear; with spatulate cotyledons; straight; parallel to seed length; embedded in endosperm; with cotyledons gradually connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; acotyledonous, or with 2 or more cotyledons (poorly developed). Cotyledons 2; tiny; not divaricate; 0.2 times length of embryo; as wide as hypocotyl-radicle; 1 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; not concealing hypocotyl-radicle; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle small; straight; not thickened.
Distribution
Pantemperate. New World, Old World. North America, Middle America, Europe, Asia Major, southeastern Asia.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
ASOA listed seeds, ISTA listed seeds.
ASOA listed seeds: -- Taxus brevifolia Nutt. -- Taxus canadensis Marshall -- Last updated September 2008.
ISTA listed seeds: -- Taxus baccata L.t -- 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
Amentotaxus Pilg. -- Austrotaxus Compton -- Pseudotaxus W. C. Cheng -- Taxus L. -- Torreya Arn., nom. cons.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 0 (not present).
General references
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, 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, Page, C.N. 1990. Coniferophytina (Conifers and Ginkgoids). In: Kubitzki, K., ed., The families and genera of vascular plants, pp. 282–361. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 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, 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
Acceptable arillocarpium & seed illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): "cone", or seed, or embryo. Illustrated "cone": arillocarpium. "Cone" illustration(s): Spjut, Engler & Prantl, Page (in Kramer & Green), Schopmeyer. Seed illustration(s): Schopmeyer. Embryo illustration(s): Schopmeyer, Engler & Prantl, Page (in Kramer & Green), Martin.
• Seed. 1 of 5. Taxus sp.: seed. • Seed. 2 of 5. Torreya californica Torr.: seed. • Embryo. 4 of 5. Taxus brevifolia Nutt.: embryo. • Embryo. 5 of 5. Torreya californica Torr.: 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’.
