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Common name: Punah Family.
Number of genera 2. Number of species 2 (Tetramerista glabra Miq., Pentamerista neotropica Maguire).
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule an intact or entire fruit.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels united. Fruit pericarpium; simple; berry (Spjut did not cover this family); berry indehiscent; berry without central placental mass; without persistent central column; not within accessory organ(s); more than 1 but less than 10-seeded; 4–5-seeded; from 1–5 cm long; 2–2.7 cm long (Maguire et al. 1972 noted this as 2–2.7 mm which is rejected because of the seed length); 4–5-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; in transection terete; apex not beaked; indehiscent. Epicarp durable; coriaceous; glabrous (without hairs); without armature; smooth; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp present; fleshy; composed of 1 unified layer; without lactiform cavity system. Endocarp absent. Funiculus short; short without seed bearing hooks (retinacula); not persisting in fruit after seed shed.
Seeds
Aril absent. Seed larger than minute; oblong; 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; woody; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Endosperm copious (Goldberg's "0" is rejected); smooth (assumed); 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); 0.2 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; oblique 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; tiny; 0.2 times length of embryo; as wide as hypocotyl-radicle; 1 times wider than 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. South America (Guayana highlands: Pentamerista neotropica), southeastern Asia (Malaysian region: Tetramerista glabra).
Notes
Spjut did not cover this family. Goldberg: noted "no endosperm", but this is not confirmed.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Pentamerista Maguire -- Tetramerista Miq.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 328. Maguire, B., C. de Zeeuw, Y.-C. Huang, & C.C. Clare, Jr. 1972. Tetrameristaceae. In: B. Maguire, ed., The botany of the Guayana Highlands - part IX. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 23:165–192.
General references
Cronquist, A. 1981. An integrated system of classification of flowering plants, 1,262 p. Columbia University Press, New York, 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, Mabberley, D.J. 1987. The plant-book, 706 p. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Illustrations
No fruit and seed illustration. Cronquist has no illustration.
• Fruit. 1 of 3. Tetramerista glabra Miq.: fruit with calyx. • Seed. 2 of 3. Tetramerista glabra Miq.: seed. • Embryo. 3 of 3. Tetramerista glabra Miq.: 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’.
