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Synonyms: Euphroniaceae Marc.-Berti
Common name: Vochysia Family.
Number of genera 8. Number of species 210.
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; capsule; loculicidal capsule, or septicidal capsule (not Spjut); capsule not inflated; capsule without operculum; simple; pseudosamara (Erisma); with persistent central column; solid central column shaft; valves not diverging at top of central column; within accessory organ(s), or not within accessory organ(s); within sepals (wings); 1-seeded (to few to many); 1-seeded (to few to many); 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 terete, or triangular; apex not beaked; dehiscent, or indehiscent. Dehiscent unit seed(s), or endocarp(s). Dehiscent regularly; and shedding seeds, or but retaining seed(s); without replum. Epicarp durable; without armature; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Endocarp present; separating spontaneously from exocarp, or 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; 10 to less than 25 mm long; 16 mm long (at least); in transection flattened; not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s); at maturity without food reserves, or without apparent 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; surface unsmooth; surface with discreet raised features, or merged raised features; surface warted; 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, or pubescent; with hairs over surface; with short hairs; sparsely hairy; with straight hairs; without glandular pubescence; with wing(s); 1-winged; with wing at one end; with wing(s) fimbriate; with solid wing(s) similar to testa (composed of matted hairs); without collar; without operculum; colored; monochrome; membranous, or coriaceous; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding embryo, or surrounding food reserve. Raphe conspicuous (ridged in Callisthene), or inconspicuous; texture as testa; as long as seed. Endosperm development nuclear; scant (Erismadelphus); fleshy; smooth; with starch, or without starch; with lipids; 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); at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric; foliate; with investing cotyledons, or spatulate cotyledons; straight; parallel to seed length; with cotyledons abruptly connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; well developed; 0.7–0.8 times length of embryo; somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle; 6–12 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; not concealing hypocotyl-radicle, or partially concealing hypocotyl-radicle; foliaceous; convoluted, or flat, or plicate; smooth; with apices entire; with margins separate; basally entire; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle moderately developed; straight; not thickened.
Distribution
New World, Old World. Middle America, South America, Africa (Erismadelphus of tropical western Africa).
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Callisthene Mart. -- Erisma Rudge -- Erismadelphus Mildbr. -- Euphronia Mart. & Zucc. -- Korupodendron Litt & Cheek -- Qualea Aubl. -- Ruizterania Marc.-Berti -- Salvertia A. St.-Hil. -- Vochysia Aubl., nom. cons.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 771. Boesewinkel, F.D. & M. Venturelli. 1987. Ovule and seed structure in Vochysiaceae. Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 108:547–566.
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, Engler, A. and K. Prantl. 1924 and onward. Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilimien. W. Engelman, Leipzig, 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, Roosmalen, M.G.M. van. 1985. Fruits of the Guianan flora, 483 pp. Institute of Systematic Botany, Wageningen Agricultural University. Drukkerij Veenman B.V., Wageningen, Spjut, R.W. 1994. A systematic treatment of fruit types. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 70:1–182.
Illustrations
Poor fruit and acceptable seed illustrations. Cronquist has no illustration. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): Baillon, Engler & Prantl, Roosmalen. Seed illustration(s): Engler & Prantl, Roosmalen, Karen. Embryo illustration(s): Baillon, Engler & Prantl, Karen. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 243: Callisthene fasciulata Mart. (A-C). Erisma calcaratum Warm.(2: A-C), Erismadelphus exsul Mildbraed (D-F), Qualea cordata Spreng. (2: D-F), Ruizterania esmereldae (Standley) Marcano-Berti (2: G-I), Salvertia convallariaeodora S. St. Hil. (2: J-L), Vochysia hondurensis [not in GRIN nor IPNI] (2: M-O).
• Fruit. 1 of 13. Callisthene fasciculata Mart.: dehisced fruit. • Seed. 2 of 13. Callisthene fasciculata Mart.: seeds. • Fruit. 3 of 13. Erisma calcaratum (Link) Warming: fruit with peduncle. • Seed. 4 of 13. Erisma calcaratum (Link) Warming: seed. • Fruit. 5 of 13. Vochysia hondurensis Sprague: fruit. • Seed. 6 of 13. Vochysia hondurensis Sprague: seeds. • Embryo. 7 of 13. Callisthene fasciculata Mart.: embryo. • Embryo. 9 of 13. Erismadelphus exsul Mildbr.: embryo. • Embryo. 10 of 13. Qualea cordata (Mart.) Spreng.: embryo. • Embryo. 11 of 13. Ruizterania esmeraldae (Standl.) Marc-Berti: embryo. • Embryo. 12 of 13. Salvertia convallariodora A. St.-Hil.: embryo. • Embryo. 13 of 13. Vochysia hondurensis Sprague: 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’.
