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Common name: Tetrachondra Family.
Number of genera 1. Number of species 2 (Tetracondra hamiltonii Petrie ex S. Oliver, T. patagonica Skottsberg).
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule an intact or entire fruit, or a partial fruit (a segment of an entire fruit).
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels united. Fruit pericarpium; simple; without persistent central column; within accessory organ(s); more than 1 but less than 10-seeded; 4-seeded; 4-carpellate; 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; apex not beaked; indehiscent. Epicarp durable; not glabrous (with hairs); hairs short; hairs scattered; hairs not glandular; without armature; smooth; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Endocarp present; not separating from exocarp; thin; not splitting into 1-seeded pyrenes; without operculum; without secretory cavities; without longitudinal ridges. Funiculus short; short without seed bearing hooks (retinacula); not persisting in fruit after seed shed.
Seeds
Aril absent. Seed 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; 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 copious; 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); 0.8 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric; 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; well developed; 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, Old World. Argentina South America and Oceania (New Zealand).
Notes
Fruit scored base on plate [like a mint fruit] with calyx in Hooker [2250].
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Tetrachondra Petrie ex Oliv.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 926 (Cronquist & Mabberley have in Lamiaceae). Skottsberg, C. 1913. Tetracondra patagonica n. sp. und die systematische Stellung der Gattung. Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 48:17–26.
General references
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, Hooker, J.D. 1873 and forward. Icones Plantarum. William & Norgate, London. (plate number cited in text within [ ]).
Illustrations
Acceptable fruit and no seed illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or fruit, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): Hooker [2250]. Fruit illustration(s): Hooker [2250]. Embryo illustration(s): Hooker [2250].
• Fruit. 1 of 3. Tetrachondra hamiltonii Petrie ex D. Oliv.: fruits. • Seed. 2 of 3. Tetrachondra hamiltonii Petrie ex D. Oliv.: seed.
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’.
