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Synonyms: Gyrocarpaceae Dumort.; Illigeraceae Blume
Common name: Herandia Family.
Number of genera 4. Number of species 68.
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule an intact or entire fruit, or an incomplete fruit with epicarp and mesocarp absent and endocarp exposed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels united. Fruit anthocarp; simple; glans (Hernandia Spjut Fig. 34D-E), or pseudosamara (Gyrocarpus Spjut Fig. 45B); without persistent central column; within accessory organ(s); within inflated calyx, or tepals, or bracteoles (opposing becoming wing-like); persistent; soft calyx (assumed); 1-seeded; 1-seeded; 1-carpellate; not sulcate; in transection terete; apex not beaked; indehiscent. Epicarp brown (all shades) (at least); dull (at least); durable; not glabrous (with hairs) (assumed); hairs not glandular; without armature; not smooth, or smooth; longitudinally ribbed, or wrinkled; without wing(s), or with wing(s); 1–2-winged; with wing(s) apical, or lateral; without apical respiratory hole. Endocarp present; not separating from exocarp; thin, or corky; 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 (at least); 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 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) (at least); crustaceous; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding embryo. Raphe conspicuous; as long as seed; included in dehisced fruit. Endosperm development cellular.
Embryo differentiated from food reserve; well developed; 1 per seed; completely filling testa (no food reserve); at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; foliate; 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; somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle; flat, or twisted, or once-folded, or crumpled (spirally twisted); 2-lobed, or ruminate, or smooth, or wrinkled; with apices lobed; with margins separate; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle small; not thickened.
Distribution
Pantropical. New World, Old World. Middle America, South America, Africa, Asia Minor, southeastern Asia, Australia, Oceania.
Notes
Goldberg did not cover this family.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Gyrocarpus Jacq. -- Hernandia L. -- Illigera Blume -- Sparattanthelium Mart.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 78. Mohana Rao, P.R. 1986. Seed and fruit anatomy in Gyrocarpus americanus with a discussion on the affinities of Hernandiaceae. Israel J. Bot. 35:133–152.
General references
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. and J.V. Dennis. 1976. World guide to tropical drift seeds and fruits, 240 pp. The New York Times Book Co., New York, 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, 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 seed illustrations. Cronquist has no illustration. Fruit illustration(s): Morley & Toelken, Roosmalen. Fruit illustration(s): Gunn & Dennis. Seed illustration(s): Karen. Embryo illustration(s): Gaertner, Karen. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 018 [no Xerox of original]: Hernandia guianensis Aubl., Sparattanthelium amazonum Mart.
• Fruit. 1 of 7. Gyrocarpus americanus Jacq.: fruit. • Seed. 2 of 7. Gyrocarpus americanus Jacq.: seed. • Fruit. 3 of 7. Hernandia guianensis Aubl.: fruit. • Seed. 4 of 7. Hernandia guianensis Aubl.: seed. • Fruit. 5 of 7. Hernandia jamaicensis Britton & Harris: fruit. • Embryo. 6 of 7. Hernandia guianensis Aubl.: embryo. • Embryo. 7 of 7. Sparattanthelium amazonum Mart.: 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’.
