Symplocaceae

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

Symplocaceae Desfontaines

Common name: Sweetleaf Family.

Number of genera: 1 genus.

Number of species (Mabberley 1997): 250 species.

Disseminule

Fruit (intact or entire).

Description

Fruits: Pistil(s) compound; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels united. Fruit pericarpium; simple; 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 nuculanium; without persistent central column; not within accessory organ(s), or within accessory organ(s); within calyxcalyx:
the outer whorl of the perianth; all the sepals of a flower
(lobes); 1-seeded, or more than 1 but less than 10-seeded; 1–5-seeded; from 1–5 cm long; 1–1.5 cm long; with 2–5-carpellate; 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 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
blue (ish); durable; 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; fleshy, or corkycorky:
firm, relatively light, discontinuous but strongly cohesive, and resilient
, or hard (including woodywoody:
texture—consisting mainly of indurate lignified tissues, characteristic of or resembling wood
); 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
; hard, or bonybony:
very hard and rather brittle, like bone
; not splitting into 1-seeded pyrenes; stone unilocular; not smooth, or smooth (seldom); with longitudinally & occasionally very high ridges, or ribs; without wing; with operculumoperculum:
a dehiscent cap (or lid) of a seed or fruit that opens during germination or dehiscence
; 1-operculate; without secretory cavities; with mechanism for seedling escape; without grooves, or with grooves; without longitudinallongitudinal:
of or relating to length or the lengthwise dimension
ridges; 1-porate (or 1 per fertilized carpelcarpel:
a simple pistil that consists of a single ovary, style, and stigma
when pluricarpellate). 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; reniformreniform:
2D or 3D shape—kidney-shaped
, or ovateovate:
2D shape—egg-shaped in outline, widest point is towards one end of the organ, the other end tapers gradually, attachment at or near the broad end (compare obovate, ovoid)
; 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; 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; with crease or line separating cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle, or without crease or line separating cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle; with notch along margin where cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle tip approaching each other, or 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; very thin; not becoming mucilaginousmucilaginous:
resembling mucilage; moist and sticky
when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Endosperm development cellular; copious; smooth; without starch, or with starch; with proteins and 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; partially filling testatesta:
seed coat
(with food reserve); 0.7–0.95 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; straight, or J-shaped, or arcuate, or U-shaped; obliqueoblique:
in a slanting direction or position, neither horizontal nor vertical
to seed length; embedded in endosperm; with cotyledons gradually connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; moderately developed, or tiny; 0.1–0.5 times length of embryo; as wide as hypocotyl-radicle; 1 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; not concealing hypocotyl-radicle; not foliaceous; thin; 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: New World and Old World.

Detailed distribution: North America, Middle America, South America, Asia Southeastern, Australia, and Oceania.

Notes

Spjut's nuculanium covers the berry of authors.

References

Literature specific to this family: Nooteboom, H.P. 1975. Revision of the Symplocaceae of the Old World, New Caledonia excepted. Leiden Bot. Ser. 1:1–335.

General references: Corner, E.J.H. 1976. The seeds of Dicots, esp. vol. 2. Cambridge University Press, New York, Cronquist, A. 1981. An integrated system of classification of flowering plants, 1,262 p. Columbia 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, and Spjut, R.W. 1994. A systematic treatment of fruit types. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 70:1–182.