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Synonyms: Cardamindaceae Link, nom. illeg.
Common name: Nasturtium Family.
Number of genera 1. Number of species 88.
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule an intact or entire fruit.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels united. Fruit pericarpium; simple, or schizocarp; samara (was Magallana); baccarium; with persistent central column; valves not diverging at top of central column; not within accessory organ(s); 1-seeded to more than 1 but less than 10-seeded; 1–3-seeded; from 1–5 cm long; 1.5 cm long; 1–3-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 angled, or terete; 3-angled (was Magallana); apex not beaked; indehiscent. Epicarp brown (all shades), or purple (spotted); dull; durable; glabrous (without hairs); without armature; smooth, or not smooth; rugose; without wing(s), or with wing(s) (was Magallana); 3-winged; with wing(s) lateral; without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp present, or absent. Endocarp present, or absent; 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 larger than minute; in transection terete; not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s); at maturity without food reserves, or 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; brown (all shades); firm ("cartilaginous"); not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Endosperm development nuclear.
Embryo differentiated from food reserve; well developed; 1 per seed; completely filling testa (no food reserve); 1 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; foliate; with investing cotyledons; straight; parallel to seed length; with cotyledons abruptly connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; with cotyledons containing euric acid; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; well developed; 0.8 times length of embryo; somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle; many; partially concealing hypocotyl-radicle; not foliaceous; massive; flat; smooth; with apices entire; with margins when young separate and connate (when older cohering); basally cordate; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle small; straight; not thickened.
Distribution
New World. Middle America, South America.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
ASOA listed seeds, ISTA listed seeds.
ASOA listed seeds: -- Tropaeolum majus L. -- Tropaeolum L. spp. -- Last updated September 2008.
ISTA listed seeds: -- Tropaeolum majus L.f -- Tropaeolum peltophorum Benth.f -- Tropaeolum peregrinum L.f -- Tropaeolum tuberosum Ruiz & Pav. -- 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
Tropaeolum L.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 832. Sparre, B. & L. Andersson. 1991. A taxonomic revision of the Tropaeolaceae. Opera Bot. 108:5–139.
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. 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, Hooker, J.D. 1873 and forward. Icones Plantarum. William & Norgate, London. (plate number cited in text within [ ]), 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, Spjut, R.W. 1994. A systematic treatment of fruit types. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 70:1–182.
Illustrations
Acceptable fruit and seed illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or fruit, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): Hooker [3150], Engler & Prantl. Fruit illustration(s): Karen. Embryo illustration(s): Engler & Prantl, LeMaout & Decaisne, Karen. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 267: Tropaeolum tricolor Sweet (A-C).
• Seed. 1 of 2. Tropaeolum peregrinum L.: seeds. • Embryo. 2 of 2. Tropaeolum tricolor Sweet: 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’.
