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Synonyms: Alpiniaceae Link; Amomaceae J. St.-Hil., nom. illeg.; Curcumaceae Dumort.
Common name: Ginger Family.
Number of genera 44. Number of species 1300.
Angiosperm. Liliopsida.
Disseminule a dehisced fruit, or an intact or entire fruit, or a seed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels united. Fruit pericarpium; simple; capsule (Sput), or berry (not Spjut); loculicidal capsule; capsule not inflated; capsule without operculum; berry indehiscent; berry without central placental mass; without persistent central column; crowned by remains of perianth; many-seeded; many; 3-carpellate, or 2-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; apex not beaked; dehiscent, or indehiscent. Dehiscent unit seed(s). Dehiscent regularly, or irregularly; passively; and shedding seeds; without replum. Epicarp durable; without armature; smooth, or not smooth; warted; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. 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 present, or absent; a true aril; adnate to hilum; fleshy; of funicular origin; basal; does not aid in seed explusion from fruit; fimbriate-laciniate; lobed, or unlobed. Seed larger than minute; sub- circular, or angular; not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s); at maturity with food reserves; with endosperm, or perisperm; without canavanine. Sarcotesta absent. Testa present; without markedly different marginal tissue; without fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; tight; surface unsmooth; surface with merged raised features; surface wrinkled; 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; with operculum; colored; monochrome; firm (= cartilaginous); not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Endosperm development at first helobial, or cellular (latter); scant; hard, or mealy; smooth; with starch; without fatty acid containing cyclopropene; without apical lobes; without chlorophyll; without isodiametric faceted surface; without odor.
Perisperm copious; hard, or mealy; with starch; with compound starch grains; opaque. Embryo differentiated from food reserve; well developed; 1 per seed; partially filling testa (with food reserve); 0.8 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric; linear; straight; parallel to seed length; embedded in perisperm (with outer layer composed of endosperm); with cotyledons gradually connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleoptile; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 1 cotyledon. Cotyledons one and terminal (but condition of plumule unknown); not modified into scutellum; not circinately coiled.
Distribution
New World, Old World. South America, Africa, southeastern Asia, Australia.
Notes
Embryo 3.6–7 times longer than wide.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
ISTA listed seeds.
ISTA listed seeds: -- Curcuma amada Roxb. -- Curcuma longa L. -- Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton -- Zingiber officinale Roscoe -- 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
Aframomum K. Schum. -- Alpinia Roxb., nom. cons. -- Amomum Roxb., nom. cons. -- Aulotandra Gagnep. -- Boesenbergia Kuntze -- Burbidgea Hook. f. -- Camptandra Ridl. -- Caulokaempferia K. Larsen -- Cautleya Hook. f. -- Cornukaempferia Mood & K. Larsen -- Curcuma L., nom. cons. -- Cyphostigma Benth. -- Distichochlamys M. F. Newman -- Elettaria Maton -- Elettariopsis Baker -- Etlingera Giseke -- Gagnepainia K. Schum. -- Geocharis (K. Schum.) Ridl. -- Geostachys (Baker) Ridl. -- Globba L. -- Haniffia Holttum -- Haplochorema K. Schum. -- Hedychium J. König -- Hemiorchis Kurz -- Hitchenia Wall. -- Hornstedtia Retz. -- Kaempferia L. -- Leptosolena C. Presl -- Mantisia Sims -- Nanochilus K. Schum. -- Paracautleya R. M. Sm. -- Plagiostachys Ridl. -- Pleuranthodium (K. Schum.) R. M. Sm. -- Pommereschea Wittm. -- Renealmia L. f., nom. cons. -- Rhynchanthus Hook. f. -- Riedelia Oliv., nom. cons. -- Roscoea Sm. -- Scaphochlamys Baker -- Siamanthus K. Larsen & Mood -- Siliquamomum Baill. -- Siphonochilus J. M. Wood & Franks -- Smithatris W. J. Kress & K. Larsen -- Stadiochilus R. M. Sm. -- Stahlianthus Kuntze -- Tamijia S. Sakai & Nagam. -- Vanoverberghia Merr. -- Zingiber Boehm., nom. cons.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 1177.
General references
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, 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): Goldberg. Seed illustration(s): Goldberg, Engler & Prantl, LeMaout & Decaisne. Embryo illustration(s): Goldberg, Engler & Prantl, Martin, LeMaout & Decaisne.
• Fruit. 1 of 14. Afromomum sp.: fruit. • Seed. 2 of 14. Afromomum sp.: seeds. • Seed. 3 of 14. Alpinia latilabris Ridl.: seeds. • Fruit. 4 of 14. Cucurma sp.: fruit with seeds. • Seed. 5 of 14. Cucurma sp.: seeds. • Seed. 6 of 14. Hedychium gardnerianum Sheppard ex Ker Gawl.: seeds. • Fruit. 7 of 14. Rhynchanthus beesianus W. W. Sm.: fruit. • Fruit. 8 of 14. Rhynchanthus beesianus W. W. Sm.: fruit. • Seed. 9 of 14. Rhynchanthus beesianus W. W. Sm.: seeds. • Fruit. 10 of 14. Riedelia sp.: fruit. • Seed. 11 of 14. Riedelia sp.: seed clusters. • Fruit. 12 of 14. Zingiber officinale Roscoe: opened fruit. • Seed. 13 of 14. Zingiber officinale Roscoe: seeds. • Embryo. 14 of 14. Hedychium gardnerianum Sheppard ex Ker Gawl.: 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’.
