Anisophylleaceae

Disclaimer

Content is from Kirkbride et al. 2006Kirkbride et al. 2006:
Kirkbride JH, Jr, Gunn CR, and Dallwitz MJ. 2006. Family guide for fruits and seeds, vers. 1.0. Accessed September 2020-January 2022. URL:  https://nt.ars-grin.gov/seedsfruits/keys/frsdfam/index.cfm ., without modification. 
Updates are forthcoming.

Taxonomy

Anisophylleaceae H. Ridley

Common name: Anisophyllea Family.

Number of genera: 4 genera.

Number of species (Mabberley 1997): 29 species.

Disseminule

Fruit (intact or entire).

Description

Fruits: Pistil(s) 1; 1-pistillate. Fruit pericarpium; simple; carceruluscarcerulus:
simple, multicarpellate, indehiscent fruit consisting of one or more seeds and air space enclosed by an undifferentiated pericarp (Spjut 1994)
; without persistent central column; not within accessory organ(s); 1-seeded and more than 1 but less than 10-seeded (1–4); 1–4-seeded; from 1–5 cm long; 1.5–2 cm long; with 3–4-carpellate; with carpels united; with carpels remaining united at maturity; with carpels remaining connected at stylestyle:
in a flower, the narrow and elongated part of the pistil between the stigma and the ovary; sometimes persisting in fruit
; without sterilesterile:
lacking male and/or female reproductive parts; also, not producing fruit or seed
carpels; apexapex:
the point farthest from the point of attachment, or the "tip" of an organ
not beaked; wall leatheryleathery:
texture—moderately thick, tough, and very pliable
, or hard, or woodywoody:
texture—consisting mainly of indurate lignified tissues, characteristic of or resembling wood
; indehiscentindehiscent:
not opening on its own, as in a fruit
. Epicarpepicarp:
outer layer of fruit wall or pericarp, if divided into layers; note here used synonymously with exocarp
durable; without armature; with wing(s), or without wing(s); 2–4-winged (at least); with wing(s) laterallateral:
(of embryo) embryo lies along the side of the seed, generally towards one end; of, at, or from the side; in grasses, can refer to the sides adjacent to the dorsal and ventral sides
; without apicalapical:
at or pertaining to the end of the seed or fruit distal from its point of attachment (i.e., base)
respiratory hole. Funiculusfuniculus:
(alt. funicle) stalk connecting the ovule (later seed) to the ovary (later fruit) placenta
short; short without seed bearing hookswith hooks:
bristles or spines with curved or backwards pointing tips, or with secondary bristles along their length
(retinacula); not persisting in fruit after seed shed.

Seeds: Arilaril:
(broad sense) appendicular structure that wholly or partly envelops a seed and is produced from or a modification of the funicle, raphe, or outer integument; usually fleshy or pulpy, sometimes spongy or tufted-capillate, often brightly colored
absent. Seed larger than minute; 5 to less than 10 mm long to 10 to less than 25 mm long; 9.5–22.5 mm long; obovoidobovoid:
3D shape—obovate
, or ellipsoidellipsoid:
3D shape—elliptic
, or fusiformfusiform:
spindle-shaped; broadest at the middle and tapering at both ends
; not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beakbeak:
a usually firm, terminal appendage, sometimes tapered
; without caudatecaudate:
tapering to a long, tail-like appendage
appendage(s); at maturity with food reserves, or without food reserves (Tobe & Raven (1987)), or without apparent food reserves; with endosperm; without canavanine. Sarcotestasarcotesta:
pulpy or fleshy outer layer of the seed coat, simulates aril
absent. Testatesta:
seed coat
present; without fleshy or leatheryleathery:
texture—moderately thick, tough, and very pliable
layer over hard layer; without glands; without bristles; without wings; without collar; without operculumoperculum:
a dehiscent cap (or lid) of a seed or fruit that opens during germination or dehiscence
; colored; monochrome; brown (all shades) (dark); thick; not becoming mucilaginousmucilaginous:
resembling mucilage; moist and sticky
when wetted; surrounding embryo. Hilumhilum:
on seeds, the scar indicating where the funiculus was attached; on grass caryopses, the scar visible on the outer fruit surface revealing where the seed is attached on the inner fruit wall surface; or in Asteraceae cypselae, the scar visible on the outer fruit wall revealing where the fruit was attached to the receptacle
larger than punctatepunctate:
surface relief—dotted with pits or with translucent, sunken glands or with colored dots, similar to pitted
. Endosperm development nuclear. Embryo differentiated from food reserve; well developed; 1 per seed; nearly filling testatesta:
seed coat
(trace or scanty food reserve), or completely filling testatesta:
seed coat
(no food reserve); at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axileaxile:
on or of the axis
and centric; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; acotyledonous, or with 1 cotyledoncotyledon:
a primary leaf of the embryo
(none and/or fused). Hypocotyl-radicle vestigial (assumed based on cotyledons); not thickened.

Distribution

General distribution: Old World and New World.

Detailed distribution: Few spp. Middle America and Asia Southeastern (Indomalaysia).

Notes

Notes: Does carceruluscarcerulus:
simple, multicarpellate, indehiscent fruit consisting of one or more seeds and air space enclosed by an undifferentiated pericarp (Spjut 1994)
of Spjut cover all fruit types in this family? We do not know. Cronquist: Fruit woodywoody:
texture—consisting mainly of indurate lignified tissues, characteristic of or resembling wood
or coriaceouscoriaceous:
texture—leathery
to drupaceous. Goldberg included Anisophyllea in Rhizophoraceae, and noted that its fruits were dry and rather hard-shelled. [Does this indicate berrylike or drupelike?].

References

Literature specific to this family: Tobe, H. & P.H. Raven. 1987. Systematic embryology of the Anisophylleaceae. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 74:1–26.

General references: Cronquist, A. 1981. An integrated system of classification of flowering plants, 1,262 p. Columbia University Press, New York, Gunn, C.R., J.H. Wiersema, C.A. Ritchie, & J.H. Kirkbride, Jr. 1992 & 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, and Spjut, R.W. 1994. A systematic treatment of fruit types. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 70:1–182.