Chrysobalanaceae

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

Chrysobalanaceae R. Brown

Common name: Cocoa-plum Family.

Number of genera: 17 genera.

Number of species (Mabberley 1997): 460 species.

Disseminule

Fruit (intact or entire), or incomplete fruit with epicarpepicarp:
outer layer of fruit wall or pericarp, if divided into layers; note here used synonymously with exocarp
and mesocarpmesocarp:
the middle layer of the pericarp, if divided into layers
absent and endocarpendocarp:
the inner layer of the pericarp, if divided into layers
exposed.

Description

Fruits: Pistil(s) compound; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels nearly separate to base. Fruit pericarpium; simple; nuculanium (Licania), or drupedrupe:
(indehiscent drupe) a fleshy, indehiscent fruit with one more hard pits enclosing seeds, derived from single, superior, simple or compound ovary; (dehiscent drupe) a fruit with a dry or fibrous to fleshy or leathery outer husk that early to tardily breaks apart (or opens), exposing one or more nutlike pits enclosing the seeds
(Parinari); without persistent central column; not within accessory organ(s); from 1–5 cm long to from 5.1–10 cm long; 1.2–9 cm long; with 1-carpellate, or 2-carpellate; with carpels united; with carpels remaining united at maturity; without sterilesterile:
lacking male and/or female reproductive parts; also, not producing fruit or seed
carpels; in transection tereteterete:
approximately circular in cross section; width and thickness approximately equal
; apexapex:
the point farthest from the point of attachment, or the "tip" of an organ
not beaked; 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
black, or brown (all shades), or green, or yellow (dotted); durable; crustaceouscrustaceous:
texture—thin, dry, indurate, and brittle
(rarely); glabrousglabrous:
without hairs
, or not glabrousglabrous:
without hairs
(with hairs); hairs dense; hairs not glandularglandular:
surface relief—covered with small, raised secretory glands, regular or irregularly shaped, translucent or opaque, and maybe distinctly colored
; without armature; not smooth, or smooth; verrucoseverrucose:
surface relief—warty, covered with wart-like projections
; without wing(s); without apicalapical:
at or pertaining to the end of the seed or fruit distal from its point of attachment (i.e., base)
respiratory hole. Mesocarpmesocarp:
the middle layer of the pericarp, if divided into layers
present, or absent; fleshy and thin, or thick and hard (bonybony:
very hard and rather brittle, like bone
); composed of 1 unified layer; without lactiform cavity system; & endocarpendocarp:
the inner layer of the pericarp, if divided into layers
not sharply differentiated. Endocarpendocarp:
the inner layer of the pericarp, if divided into layers
present; not separating from exocarpexocarp:
outer layer of fruit wall or pericarp, if divided into layers; note here used synonymously with epicarp
; thin, or thick, or bonybony:
very hard and rather brittle, like bone
, or fibrousfibrous:
texture—long, flexible threads, thicker than hairs, that densely cover and obscure the surface
, or hard; not splitting into 1-seeded pyrenes; smooth, or not smooth; with slightly ridges, or fibers, or granules; without wing; without operculumoperculum:
a dehiscent cap (or lid) of a seed or fruit that opens during germination or dehiscence
; without secretory cavities; with mechanism for seedling escape, or without mechanism for seedling escape; with longitudinallongitudinal:
of or relating to length or the lengthwise dimension
ridges, or without longitudinallongitudinal:
of or relating to length or the lengthwise dimension
ridges; with fracturing longitudinallongitudinal:
of or relating to length or the lengthwise dimension
ridges so seedling can emerge, or without fracturing longitudinallongitudinal:
of or relating to length or the lengthwise dimension
ridges. 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; 10 to less than 25 mm long; 25 mm long; 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 without food reserves; 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 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; glabrousglabrous:
without hairs
; without wings; without collar; without operculumoperculum:
a dehiscent cap (or lid) of a seed or fruit that opens during germination or dehiscence
; colored; monochrome; membranousmembranous:
texture—extremely thin, pliable, and fairly tough
; not becoming mucilaginousmucilaginous:
resembling mucilage; moist and sticky
when wetted; surrounding embryo. Embryo differentiated from food reserve; well developed; 1 per seed; completely filling testatesta:
seed coat
(no food reserve); at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; foliatefoliate:
appearing leaf-like
; with spatulatespatulate:
2D shape—like a spatula; rounded at the apex, with base long and tapered; (of embryo) embryo is straight and axile and centric with the cotyledons expanded to form the shape of a spatula or spoon; (of cotyledons) cotyledons expanded and wider than the stalk but not invested into the stalk
cotyledons, or investinginvesting:
(of embryo) embryo is nearly or completely filling seed coat, straight, and axile and centric with spatulate cotyledons and covering the stalk for at least half its length; (of cotyledons) cotyledons spatulate and covering the stalk for at least half its length
cotyledons; straight; parallel to seed length; with cotyledons abruptly connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; with cotyledons containing licanic acid, or parinaric acid; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; well developed; somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle; partially concealing hypocotyl-radicle; not foliaceous; thick; flat; smooth, or ruminateruminate:
testa or seed coat folded into the endosperm
(occasionally); with margins separate; equal in size; not punctatepunctate:
surface relief—dotted with pits or with translucent, sunken glands or with colored dots, similar to pitted
dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle vestigial; straight; not thickened.

Distribution

General distribution: Pantropical. New World and Old World (best developed in New World).

Detailed distribution: North America to Oceania.

References

Literature specific to this family: Prance, G.T. & F. White. 1988. The genera of Chrysobalanaceae: A study in practical and theoretical taxonomy and its relevance to evolutionary biology. Philos. Trans., Ser. B 320:1–184.

General references: Cronquist, A. 1981. An integrated system of classification of flowering plants, 1,262 p. Columbia University Press, New York, Flora Neotropica. 1968–74. Nos. 1–14. Hafner Publishing Company, Darien & 1976-. Nos. 15-present. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx [monograph number], Gaertner, J. 1788–1805. De fructibus et seminibus plantarum. The Author, Stuttgart, Goldberg, A. 1986 (dicots) & 1989 (monocots). Classification, evolution, and phylogeny of the familes of Dicotyledons. Smithsonian Contr. Bot. 58 for dicots (314 pp.) & 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, & 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, 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, and Spjut, R.W. 1994. A systematic treatment of fruit types. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 70:1–182.