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Synonyms: Aquilariaceae R. Br.ex DC.; Daphnaceae Vent.; Gonystylaceae Tiegh., nom. cons.; Phaleriaceae Meisn.
Common name: Mezereum Family.
Number of genera 51. Number of species 720.
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule a dehisced fruit, or an intact or entire fruit, or a seed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) 1; 1-pistillate. Fruit pericarpium, or anthocarp; simple; nuculanium, or capsule, or berry, or drupe (latter 2 not Spjut); loculicidal capsule; capsule not inflated; capsule without operculum; simple; tryma (Spjut 3 families: Arecaceae, Juglandaceae, Thymelaeaceae), or diclesium; without persistent central column; with styles(s); at apex; not within accessory organ(s), or within accessory organ(s); within hypanthium (composed of fleshy calyx); accrescent; persistent; with hypanthium wall distinct from fruit wall; with hypanthium composed of 1 layer (assumed); with hypanthium fleshy (as fruit ripens, hypanthium breaks at its base and eventually is shed leaving exposed fruit); (1–)2(–12)-carpellate ((1-)2–5(-12)); 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; wall woody (for Gyonstylus capsule); dehiscent, or indehiscent. Dehiscent unit endocarp(s), or "fruit". Dehiscent and shedding seeds; without replum. Epicarp durable; without armature; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Endocarp present, or absent; not separating from exocarp; thin, or hard; 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, or present (Gyrinopsis); a true aril, or an arillike structure; white; well developed; adnate to hilum; fleshy; basal; does not aid in seed explusion from fruit; cupshaped (& may have a caudate appendage). Arillike structure falling with seed a caruncle (from raphe & covering 1/2 of seed). Seed larger than minute; 5 to less than 10 mm long to 25 to less than 50 mm long; 6–35 mm long; oblong, or elliptic, or pyriform; not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s); at maturity with food reserves, or without apparent food reserves; with endosperm (type of food reserve unknown for some taxa); without canavanine. Sarcotesta absent. Testa present; without markedly different marginal tissue; without fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; loose; 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; pubescent; with hairs over surface; with short hairs (stiff & brown); with straight hairs; without agglutinated hairs; without mucilaginous hairs; without glandular pubescence; without wings; without collar; without operculum; colored; monochrome; brown (all shades), or gray; thin, or crustaceous; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve, or surrounding embryo. Endosperm development nuclear; copious (Lachnaea, Pimelea); fleshy; smooth; with oils; 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), or partially filling testa (with food reserve), or nearly filling testa (trace or scanty food reserve); 1 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric; foliate; with spatulate cotyledons, or investing cotyledons; straight; parallel to seed length; embedded in endosperm; with cotyledons abruptly connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; with cotyledons containing oils; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; well developed; 0.6–0.9 times length of embryo; somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle; to 5.5 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; not concealing hypocotyl-radicle, or partially concealing hypocotyl-radicle; thick; flat; smooth; with apices entire; with margins separate; basally entire; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle moderately developed, or well developed; straight; not thickened.
Distribution
Cosmopolitan. New World, Old World. North America, Middle America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia Major, Asia Minor, southeastern Asia, Australia, Oceania.
Notes
Goldberg & Mabberley also recognized Gonstylaceae. Aquilarioideae and Gyonstyloideae: Fruit loculicidal capsule. Synandrophnoideae: Fruit indehiscent, hypanthium scarcely developed. Thymelaeoideae: Fruit indehiscent, hypanthium more or less developed.
Weed information
1 or more USA state noxious weeds.
USA states and territories with listed noxious weeds: Washington (WA).
USA state and territory noxious weeds: -- Thymelaea passerina (L.) Coss. & Germ.: USA state noxious weed: WA●. -- Symbols: ªaquatic weed; ●terrestrial weed; °weed in seed. -- Last updated September 2008.
Listed seeds
ISTA listed seeds.
ISTA listed seeds: -- Daphne odora Thunb. -- Gonystylus bancanus (Miq.) Kurz -- 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
Aetoxylon (Airy Shaw) Airy Shaw -- Amyxa Tiegh. -- Aquilaria Lam., nom. cons. -- Arnhemia Airy Shaw -- Atemnosiphon Leandri -- Craterosiphon Engl. & Gilg -- Cryptadenia Meisn. -- Dais L. -- Daphne L., nom. cons. prop. -- Daphnimorpha Nakai -- Daphnopsis Mart. -- Deltaria Steenis -- Diarthron Turcz. -- Dicranolepis Planch. -- Dirca L. -- Drapetes Lam. -- Edgeworthia Meisn. -- Enkleia Griff. -- Eriosolena Blume -- Funifera Leandro ex C. A. Mey. -- Gnidia L. -- Gonystylus Teijsm. & Binn. -- Goodallia Benth., nom. illeg. -- Gyrinops Gaertn. -- Jedda J. R. Clarkson -- Kelleria Endl. -- Lachnaea L. -- Lagetta Juss. -- Lasiadenia Benth. -- Lethedon Spreng. -- Linodendron Griseb. -- Linostoma Wall. ex Endl. -- Lophostoma (Meisn.) Meisn. -- Octolepis Oliv. -- Oreodendron C. T. White -- Ovidia Meisn., nom. cons. -- Passerina L. -- Peddiea Harv. ex Hook. -- Phaleria Jack -- Pimelea Banks ex Gaertn., nom. cons. -- Rhamnoneuron Gilg -- Schoenobiblus Mart. -- Solmsia Baill. -- Stellera L. -- Stephanodaphne Baill. -- Struthiola L., nom. cons. -- Synandrodaphne Gilg, nom. cons. -- Synaptolepis Oliv. -- Thecanthes Wikstr. -- Thymelaea Mill., nom. cons. -- Wikstroemia Endl., nom. cons.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 634.
General references
Baillon, H.E. 1866–95. Histoire des plantes, 13 vols. Hachette and Co., Paris, 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, 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, Martin, A.C. 1946. The comparative internal morphology of seeds. Amer. Midl. Naturalist 36:513–660, Spjut, R.W. 1994. A systematic treatment of fruit types. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 70:1–182.
Illustrations
Poor fruit and seed illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): LeMaout & Decaisne, Baillon, Corner. Seed illustration(s): Baillon, LeMaout & Decaisne. Embryo illustration(s): Baillon, LeMaout & Decaisne, Corner, Martin.
• Fruit. 1 of 12. Gyrinopsis cumingiana Decne.: fruit. • Seed. 2 of 12. Gyrinopsis cumingiana Decne.: seeds. • Fruit. 3 of 12. Gonystylus affinis Radlk.: dehisced fruit. • Seed. 4 of 12. Gonystylus affinis Radlk.: seed. • Fruit. 5 of 12. Lagetta lagetto (Sw.) Nash: fruit. • Fruit. 6 of 12. Lagetta lagetto (Sw.) Nash: fruit with exocarp removed. • Seed. 7 of 12. Lagetta lagetto (Sw.) Nash: seed. • Fruit. 8 of 12. Thymelaea passerina (L.) Cosson & Germ.: fruits. • Fruit. 9 of 12. Thymelaea passerina (L.) Cosson & Germ.: fruits with exocarp removed. • Seed. 10 of 12. Thymelaea passerina (L.) Cosson & Germ.: seed. • Seed. 11 of 12. Gnidia sp.: fruit with floral parts. • Embryo. 12 of 12. Aquilaria malaccensis Lam.: 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’.
