Irvingiaceae

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

Irvingiaceae (Engler) Exell & Mendonca

Common name: Irvingia Family.

Number of genera: 3 genera.

Number of species (Mabberley 1997): 8 species.

Disseminule

Fruit (intact or entire).

Description

Fruits: Pistil(s) 1; 1-pistillate. Fruit pericarpium; simple; Irvingia & Klainedoxa 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
, or samarasamara:
a winged, indehiscent, dry fruit containing a single (rarely two) seed(s)
(Desbordesia); without persistent central column; not within accessory organ(s); 1-seeded, or more than 1 but less than 10-seeded; 1–5-seeded; from 1–5 cm long, or from 5.1–10 cm long; 2–6 cm long; with 2–5-carpellate (recorded as 1, 5 or 4, or 2); with carpels united; with carpels remaining united at maturity; with carpels not radiating at maturity; without sterilesterile:
lacking male and/or female reproductive parts; also, not producing fruit or seed
carpels; not sulcatesulcate:
surface relief—having one or more elongate, relatively narrow and shallow depressions or grooves
; in transection tereteterete:
approximately circular in cross section; width and thickness approximately equal
, or compressedcompressed:
flattened; in grasses, used to denote compression (not necessarily flattened) either laterally or dorsiventrally
; 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
gray, or green (or a combination & glaucous); durable; glabrousglabrous:
without hairs
; without armature; smooth (at least); without wing(s), or with wing(s); 1-winged; with wing(s) encompassing; 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; thin and fleshy; composed of 1 unified layer; without lactiform cavity system. 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 woodywoody:
texture—consisting mainly of indurate lignified tissues, characteristic of or resembling wood
and fibrousfibrous:
texture—long, flexible threads, thicker than hairs, that densely cover and obscure the surface
(on outside); not splitting into 1-seeded pyrenes; without operculumoperculum:
a dehiscent cap (or lid) of a seed or fruit that opens during germination or dehiscence
; without secretory cavities; without 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; 25 to less than 50 mm long; up to 35 mm long; in transection flattened, or compressedcompressed:
flattened; in grasses, used to denote compression (not necessarily flattened) either laterally or dorsiventrally
; 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, 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 markedly different marginalmarginal:
at, on, or close to the margin or border
tissue; without fleshy or leatheryleathery:
texture—moderately thick, tough, and very pliable
layer over hard layer; tight; shinyshiny:
uniformly reflecting a high proportion of incident light at all angles
; surface unsmooth; surface with merged raised features; surface striatestriate:
surface relief—having fine, parallel lines, grooves or ridges
; 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; not becoming mucilaginousmucilaginous:
resembling mucilage; moist and sticky
when wetted; surrounding embryo (or nearly so). Endosperm thin, or copious; without fatty acid containing cyclopropene; without apicalapical:
at or pertaining to the end of the seed or fruit distal from its point of attachment (i.e., base)
lobes; without chlorophyll; without isodiametric faceted surface; without odor. Embryo differentiated from food reserve; well developed; 1 per seed; completely filling testatesta:
seed coat
(no food reserve) (or nearly so); 1 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; foliatefoliate:
appearing leaf-like
; straight, or C-shapedC-shaped:
2D-shape—semiannulate, curved into the shape of the letter 'C'
; parallel to seed length (assumed); with cotyledons abruptly connected to hypocotyl-radicle (assumed); without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; well developed; 0.3 times length of embryo; flat; smooth; with apicesapex:
the point farthest from the point of attachment, or the "tip" of an organ
entire; with margins separate; basally entire; 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 well developed; straight; not thickened.

Distribution

General distribution: Old World.

Detailed distribution: Tropical Africa and Asia Southeastern.

References

Literature specific to this family: Berhaut, J. 1975. Dicotyledones. Ficoidées à Légumineuses. Flora Illustrée du Sénégal, vol. 4. Government du Sénégal, Dakar. Gentry, A.H. 1984. Klainedoxa (Irvingiaceae) at Makokou, Gabon: Three sympatric species in a putatively monotypic genus. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 71:166–168.

General references: 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] and Mabberley, D.J. 1987. The plant-book, 706 p. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.