Sapotaceae

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

Sapotaceae A.L. Jussieu

Common name: Sapodilla Family.

Number of genera: 53 genera.

Number of species (Mabberley 1997): 1100 species.

Disseminule

Fruit (dehisced), or fruit (intact or entire), or seed.

Description

Fruits: Pistil(s) compound; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels united. Fruit pericarpium, or anthocarpanthocarp:
simple or compound and including some tissue of non-ovarian origin (accessory tissue)
; simplesimple:
fruit formed from a single flower with one pistil, solitary carpel or several fused carpels
; amphisarcum, or berryberry:
an indehiscent, fleshy fruit with one or a few to many seeds. The flesh may be homogenous throughout. Or, if the outer part is hard, firm, or leathery, referred to as an hesperidium. Septa are present in some, and the seeds may be arillate or with a fleshy testa.
, 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
(Praclosia), or capsulecapsule:
a dry, dehiscent fruit derived from a compound ovary
(not Spjut & type of fruit unknown - see Goldberg); berryberry:
an indehiscent, fleshy fruit with one or a few to many seeds. The flesh may be homogenous throughout. Or, if the outer part is hard, firm, or leathery, referred to as an hesperidium. Septa are present in some, and the seeds may be arillate or with a fleshy testa.
indehiscent; berryberry:
an indehiscent, fleshy fruit with one or a few to many seeds. The flesh may be homogenous throughout. Or, if the outer part is hard, firm, or leathery, referred to as an hesperidium. Septa are present in some, and the seeds may be arillate or with a fleshy testa.
without central placental mass; simplesimple:
fruit formed from a single flower with one pistil, solitary carpel or several fused carpels
; glans; without persistent central column; within accessory organ(s); within cupule (woody); 1-seeded (to saveral); 1-seeded (to several); with 2(–30)-carpellate (2–24(-30)); with carpels united; with carpels remaining united at maturity; with carpels not radiating 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; not sulcatesulcate:
surface relief—having one or more elongate, relatively narrow and shallow depressions or grooves
; in transectiontransection:
a cross section; representing a plane made by cutting across an organ at a right angle to its length
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
, or dehiscentdehiscent:
(v. dehisce) splitting open at maturity to release contents (of a fruit)
. Dehiscentdehiscent:
(v. dehisce) splitting open at maturity to release contents (of a fruit)
and shedding seeds; without replumreplum:
the rim, formed by the persistent placentas, and connected by a false septum in Brassicaceae fruits. The fruit valves are attached to this rim and separate from it in dehiscent fruits.
. Epicarpepicarp:
outer layer of fruit wall or pericarp, if divided into layers; note here used synonymously with exocarp
yellow, or purple, or black; durable; not glabrousglabrous:
without hairs
(with hairs), or glabrousglabrous:
without hairs
; hairs not glandularglandular:
surface relief—covered with small, raised secretory glands, regular or irregularly shaped, translucent or opaque, and maybe distinctly colored
; without armature; 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; fleshyfleshy:
texture—fairly firm and dense, juicy or at least moist, and easily cut
; composed of 1 unified layer; without lactiform cavity system; & endocarpendocarp:
the inner layer of the pericarp, if divided into layers
sharply differentiated. Endocarpendocarp:
the inner layer of the pericarp, if divided into layers
present, or absent; not separating from exocarpexocarp:
outer layer of fruit wall or pericarp, if divided into layers; note here used synonymously with epicarp
; cartilaginouscartilaginous:
texture—firm, dense, tough, somewhat pliable, and resilient, like cartilage
, or thinthin:
having or being of relatively little depth
, or hard; without wing; without operculumoperculum:
a dehiscent cap (or lid) of a seed or fruit that opens during germination or dehiscence
; without secretory cavities; without mechanism for seedling escape; without grooves; 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 hooks (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; 1 to less than 5 mm long to 50+ mm long; 5–50 mm long; circularcircular:
(of embryo) linear embryo is curved into an "O" shape
, or ellipsoidellipsoid:
3D shape—elliptic
; in transectiontransection:
a cross section; representing a plane made by cutting across an organ at a right angle to its length
triangular (more or less); 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 endospermendosperm:
nutritive starch- and oil-containing tissue present in many seeds
; without canavanine. Sarcotestasarcotesta:
pulpy or fleshy outer layer of the seed coat, simulates aril
absent. Testatesta:
seed coat
present, or absent (partially); adnate to epicarpepicarp:
outer layer of fruit wall or pericarp, if divided into layers; note here used synonymously with exocarp
(if testatesta:
seed coat
not smooth then frequently testatesta:
seed coat
partially adherent to pericarppericarp:
fruit wall or fruit coat
); without embryo surrounded and capped by viscid tissue; without markedly different marginalmarginal:
at, on, or close to the margin or border
tissue; without fleshyfleshy:
texture—fairly firm and dense, juicy or at least moist, and easily cut
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
, or dulldull:
reflecting only a low proportion of incident light, with no apparent sheen
; surface smooth, or unsmooth; surface with depressed features, or merged raised features; surface pittedpitted:
surface relief—surface with small depressions in which the areas between the hollows do not take on the appearance of a true reticular net
; surface wrinkledwrinkled:
surface relief—shallow, irregular folds and furrows covering the surface; appearing overall though crumpled and then spread out
; 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; brown (all shades), or black (ish); bonybony:
very hard and rather brittle, like bone
, or crustaceouscrustaceous:
texture—thin, dry, indurate, and brittle
, or thickthick:
having or being of relatively great depth
; not becoming mucilaginousmucilaginous:
resembling mucilage; moist and sticky
when wetted; surrounding food reserve, or 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
(to as long as seed); linearlinear:
(shape) long, narrow, and uniform in width; (of embryo) embryo is straight and much longer than wide
, or oblongoblong:
2D shape—much longer than broad with nearly parallel sides, corners are rounded
. Endospermendosperm:
nutritive starch- and oil-containing tissue present in many seeds
copious; fleshyfleshy:
texture—fairly firm and dense, juicy or at least moist, and easily cut
, or hard; smooth; with oils; 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 (occasionally many); completely filling testatesta:
seed coat
(no food reserve) to nearly filling testatesta:
seed coat
(trace or scanty food reserve); 1 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axileaxile:
on or of the axis
and centric; linearlinear:
(shape) long, narrow, and uniform in width; (of embryo) embryo is straight and much longer than wide
, or 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; straight; obliqueoblique:
in a slanting direction or position, neither horizontal nor vertical
to seed length, or parallel to seed length, or transversetransverse:
lying, situated, or placed across
to seed length; embedded in endospermendosperm:
nutritive starch- and oil-containing tissue present in many seeds
; with cotyledons abruptly connected to hypocotyl-radicle, or gradually connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; well developed; 0.5–0.9 times length of embryo; as wide as hypocotyl-radicle, or somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle; 4.5–7 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; foliaceous, or not foliaceous; thinthin:
having or being of relatively little depth
, or thickthick:
having or being of relatively great depth
; flat; smooth, or ruminateruminate:
testa or seed coat folded into the endosperm
(rarely); with apicesapex:
the point farthest from the point of attachment, or the "tip" of an organ
entire; with margins separate, or connate; 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 small, or moderately developed; straight; not thickened.

Distribution

General distribution: Cosmopolitan. New World and Old World.

Detailed distribution: North America to Oceania.

References

Literature specific to this family: Baehni, C. 1965. Mémoire sur les Sapotacées. III. Inventaire des genres. Boissiera 11:1–262; Pennington, T.D. 1990. Sapotaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 52:1–770.

General references: Corner, E.J.H. 1976. The seeds of Dicots, esp. vol. 2. Cambridge University Press, New York, Engler, A. & 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) & 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, Martin, A.C. 1946. The comparative internal morphology of seeds. Amer. Midl. Naturalist 36:513–660, 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, Schopmeyer, C.S. 1974. Seeds of Woodywoody:
texture—consisting mainly of indurate lignified tissues, characteristic of or resembling wood
plants in the United States. Agric. Handb. 450:1–883, and Spjut, R.W. 1994. A systematic treatment of fruit types. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 70:1–182.