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Synonyms: Drimyidaceae Baill.; Takhtajaniaceae J.-F. Leroy
Common name: Wintera Family.
Number of genera 5. Number of species 60.
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule a dehisced fruit, or an intact or entire fruit, or a seed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound; 1 to more than 21; 1–24-pistillate; with carpels united. Fruit pericarpium; multiple; baccetum (Spjut Fig. 12E & 6 families: Annonaceae, Austrobaileyaceae, Lardizabalaceae, Ranunculaceae, Schisandraceae, Winteraceae), or follicetum, or syncarpium (Spjut 4 families: Annonaceae, Himantandraceae, Magnoliaceae, Winteraceae); without persistent central column; not within accessory organ(s); (1-)several to many; (1-)several to many; less than 1 cm long; 0.5–0.9 cm long; 1-carpellate (to several to many); with carpels separate (or essentially); with carpels remaining united at maturity; with carpels not radiating at maturity; without sterile carpels; apex beaked, or not beaked; apex short beaked; wall fleshy; dehiscent, or indehiscent. Dehiscent unit endocarp(s). Dehiscent and shedding seeds; without replum. Epicarp black, or purple, or red; durable; glabrous (without hairs); without armature; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp present. Endocarp absent. Funiculus short; short without seed bearing hooks (retinacula); not persisting in fruit after seed shed.
Seeds
Aril absent. Seed larger than minute; 1 to less than 5 mm long, or 5 to less than 10 mm long; 2–5 mm long; ovate, or angular, or reniform, or straight; 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; surface unsmooth; without crease or line separating cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle; with notch along margin where cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle tip approaching each other, or 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; black, or brown (all shades); hard; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Endosperm copious; smooth; with oils; without fatty acid containing cyclopropene; without apical lobes; without chlorophyll; without isodiametric faceted surface; without odor.
Embryo differentiated from food reserve; rudimentary; 1 per seed; partially filling testa (with food reserve); 0.04 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; miniature; dwarf; straight; parallel to seed length; embedded in endosperm; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; acotyledonous, or with 2 or more cotyledons (barely). Cotyledons 2; as wide as hypocotyl-radicle; 1 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; not concealing hypocotyl-radicle; not foliaceous; smooth; with apices entire; with margins separate; basally entire; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle vestigial; straight; not thickened.
Distribution
New World, Old World. Middle America, South America, Africa, Australia, Oceania.
Notes
Vink (1983): "Fruit berry, often with many stone cells, with or without pulp around the seeds".
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Drimys J. R. Forst. & G. Forst., nom. cons. -- Pseudowintera Dandy -- Takhtajania Baranova & J.-F. Leroy -- Tasmannia R. Br. ex DC. -- Zygogynum Baill.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 38. Sampson, F.B., J.B. Williams, & P.S. Woodland. 1988. The morphology and taxonomic position of Tasmannia glaucifolia (Winteraceae), a new Australian species. Austral. J. Bot. 36:395–413.
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, 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, Morley, B.D. and H.R. Toelken, eds. 1983. Flowering Plants in Australia, 416 pp. Rigby, Adelaide, 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. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): Spjut, Cronquist. Seed illustration(s): Cronquist, Sampson et al. (1988), Karen. Embryo illustration(s): Karen. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 001: Drimys dipetala F. Muell. (A-C), Zygogynum (Belliolum) crassifolium (Baill.) W. Vink. (D-F), Zygogynum (Bubbia) sp. (G-I), Zygogyum (Exospermum) stipitatum [not in GRIN nor IPNI] (J-L).
• Fruit. 1 of 6. Zygogynum bicolor Tiegh.: fruit with peduncle. • Seed. 2 of 6. Zygogynum bicolor Tiegh.: seed. • Embryo. 3 of 6. Tasmannia insipida DC.: embryo. • Embryo. 4 of 6. Zygogynum crassifolium (Baill.) Vink: embryo. • Embryo. 5 of 6. Zygogynum sp.: 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’.
