Family name: Marantaceae Petersen
Synonym(s): [none]
Common name(s): prayer-plant family
*Number of genera/species: 29/525
List of genera records in GRIN-Global
fruit or seed
Fruit a loculicidalloculicidal:
type of capsular dehiscence, opening longitudinally through the locules (compare septicidal)
capsulecapsule:
a dry, dehiscent fruit derived from a compound ovary
, sometimes a 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.
(fleshy–Sarcophyrnium, leathery–Thaumato coccuscoccus:
fruitlets, derived from a schizocarpous gynoecium, opening along their ventral sutures and sometimes the dorsal sutures as a result of their separation from one another or from a central axis (Spjut 1994, slight modification)
), 6–20 mm long, globoseglobose:
3D shape—more or less spherical
to trigonoustrigonous:
3D shape—having three faces that meet at distinct angles; triangular in outline
, angledangular:
2D shape—having sides that meet at acute or obtuse angles
in transection, , sometimes sepalssepal:
a member of the outer envelope of a flower (calyx)
persistent, with 1–3 seeds. Pericarppericarp:
fruit wall or fruit coat
brown, white, green, orange, or red, shinyshiny:
uniformly reflecting a high proportion of incident light at all angles
, indurateindurate:
texture—hardened or stony; yielding under strong pressure; not deformable without internal structural disruption
or fleshy, sometimes pubescentpubescent:
surface relief—bearing hairs
, smooth, spinyspiny:
having slender, stiff, sharp projections oriented in the general plane of the structure
in Coeppertia, roughenedroughened:
texture—having a small, stout, stiff, more or less acute protrusions
in Trachyphyrynium, or papillosepapillate:
surface relief—bearing minute, distinct, broad-based projections, tapering to a rounded apex
in some Calathea spp. In Thaumato coccuscoccus:
fruitlets, derived from a schizocarpous gynoecium, opening along their ventral sutures and sometimes the dorsal sutures as a result of their separation from one another or from a central axis (Spjut 1994, slight modification)
, berriesberry:
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. are large, leatheryleathery:
texture—moderately thick, tough, and very pliable
, winged, and with mucilaginousmucilaginous:
resembling mucilage; moist and sticky
endocarps. In Thalia and Halopegia, fruit is caryopsislike, indehiscent with a thin paperypapery:
texture—papyraceous, chartaceous; very thin, pliable, and readily torn; like paper
or membranousmembranous:
texture—extremely thin, pliable, and fairly tough
fruit wall and 1-seeded.
Seeds angularangular:
2D shape—having sides that meet at acute or obtuse angles
to globoseglobose:
3D shape—more or less spherical, compressedcompressed:
flattened; in grasses, used to denote compression (not necessarily flattened) either laterally or dorsiventrally
in transection, often large (up to 20 mm long), each with operculumoperculum:
a dehiscent cap (or lid) of a seed or fruit that opens during germination or dehiscence
and micropylar collarmicropylar collar:
collar shaped tissue at micropyle
. Seed coat blue, brown, black, or gray, shinyshiny:
uniformly reflecting a high proportion of incident light at all angles, phytomelanphytomelan:
carbonaceous, opaque material that usually covers the seed coat to give it a black appearance, common in certain monocot families
encrusted, smooth, groovedgrooved:
surface relief—linear depressions that may be single or form a series of grooves over the surface
, reticulatereticulate:
surface relief—netted, raised walls or concave grooves forming a net-like surface pattern with flat, concave, or convex interspaces
, wrinkledwrinkled:
surface relief—shallow, irregular folds and furrows covering the surface; appearing overall though crumpled and then spread out
, or wartywarty:
surface relief—distinct, rounded projections that are large relative to the fruit size; tuberculate, verrucose
, sometimes pubescentpubescent:
surface relief—bearing hairs
. Seeds from capsulescapsule:
a dry, dehiscent fruit derived from a compound ovary have white, fleshy arilsaril:
(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
adnate to the hilahilum:
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
, which aids in seed expulsion. Seeds from berriesberry:
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. lack obvious arilsaril:
(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 except in Thaumato coccuscoccus:
fruitlets, derived from a schizocarpous gynoecium, opening along their ventral sutures and sometimes the dorsal sutures as a result of their separation from one another or from a central axis (Spjut 1994, slight modification)
in which the arilsaril:
(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 appear as membranousmembranous:
texture—extremely thin, pliable, and fairly tough
sheets surrounding the seed coat.
Embryo well developed, usually annularannular:
3D shape—forming a ring
or horseshoe-shapedhorseshoe-shaped:
3D shape—relatively slender and strongly compressed, the whole strongly curved over its length in a plane perpendicular to the direction of compression and forming an incomplete circle, the ends somewhat straighter than the rest and parallel or nearly so
, sometimes J-shaped or straight, and surrounding copious, mealymealy:
loose, dry, and disintegrating in finely granular
pieces like meal or flour
perisperm. A canal extends through the perispermperisperm:
seed nutritive tissue comparable to the endosperm, but derived from the nucellus (maternal tissue)
from the funicularfuniculus:
(alt. funicle) stalk connecting the ovule (later seed) to the ovary (later fruit) placenta
end to where the embryo bends. The canal is simple (Ischnosiphon, Monotagma), laterally dilated (Calathea, Haumania), distally branched (Donax, Hypselodelphys, Marnata, Myrosma, Monophyllanthe), or branched from the base (Thalia).
| Fruit | |
| Type | capsulecapsule: a dry, dehiscent fruit derived from a compound ovary , 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. |
| Size range | 6–20 mm long |
| Shape(s) | conicalconical: 3D shape—cone-shaped, with the point of attachment at the broad end  , ellipsoidellipsoid:3D shape—elliptic , globoseglobose: 3D shape—more or less spherical , oblongoblong:2D shape—much longer than broad with nearly parallel sides, corners are rounded  , trigonoustrigonous:3D shape—having three faces that meet at distinct angles; triangular in outline , teardrop-shapedteardrop-shaped: 2D shape—widest point is toward one end of the fruit, the other end tapers sharply to a pointed end  |
| Texture | indurateindurate: texture—hardened or stony; yielding under strong pressure; not deformable without internal structural disruption , fleshy, chartaceouschartaceous: papery, papyraceous , leatheryleathery: texture—moderately thick, tough, and very pliable |
| Surface relief | smooth, roughenedroughened: texture—having a small, stout, stiff, more or less acute protrusions , spinyspiny: having slender, stiff, sharp projections oriented in the general plane of the structure , papillatepapillate:surface relief—bearing minute, distinct, broad-based projections, tapering to a rounded apex |
| Color(s) | white, brown, red, green, orange |
| Unique features | Usually 1–3 seeded capsulescapsule: a dry, dehiscent fruit derived from a compound ovary , sometime berriesberry: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 caryopsislike 1-seeded fruits. Fruits with large seeds, each seed usually with basalbasal:at or pertaining to the point of attachment; (of embryo) embryo occupies one end of the seed 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 (or pulp) and phytomelan-encrusted operculumoperculum:a dehiscent cap (or lid) of a seed or fruit that opens during germination or dehiscence . |
| Seed | |
| Size range | 3–20 mm long |
| Shape(s) | ellipsoidellipsoid: 3D shape—elliptic , globoseglobose: 3D shape—more or less spherical , triangulartriangular:2D shape—three relatively straight sides with distinct corners; more angular than teardrop-shaped  , polygonalpolygonal:angular |
| Surface relief | reticulatereticulate: surface relief—netted, raised walls or concave grooves forming a net-like surface pattern with flat, concave, or convex interspaces , wrinkledwrinkled:surface relief—shallow, irregular folds and furrows covering the surface; appearing overall though crumpled and then spread out , wartywarty:surface relief—distinct, rounded projections that are large relative to the fruit size; tuberculate, verrucose , groovedgrooved:surface relief—linear depressions that may be single or form a series of grooves over the surface |
| Color(s) | blue, brown, black, gray |
| Unique features | Large phytomelan-encrusted seeds with curvedcurved: (of embryo) linear embryo is curved into an arch or horseshoe with the ends far apart  to annularannular:3D shape—forming a ring embryos and a canal that extends through perispermperisperm:seed nutritive tissue comparable to the endosperm, but derived from the nucellus (maternal tissue) . Shape of canal is diagnostic to one or more genera. |
| Other | |
| Embryo | well developed, usually annularannular: 3D shape—forming a ring or horseshoe-shapedhorseshoe-shaped:3D shape—relatively slender and strongly compressed, the whole strongly curved over its length in a plane perpendicular to the direction of compression and forming an incomplete circle, the ends somewhat straighter than the rest and parallel or nearly so , sometimes J-shaped or straight |
| Nutritive tissue | copious, mealymealy: loose, dry, and disintegrating in finely granular pieces like meal or flour perispermperisperm: seed nutritive tissue comparable to the endosperm, but derived from the nucellus (maternal tissue) |
Tropics except Australia.
Distribution map courtesy of Angiosperm Phylogeny Website.
Baskin and Baskin 2021Baskin and Baskin 2021:
Baskin C and Baskin J. 2021. Relationship of the lateral embryo (in grasses) to other monocot embryos: A status up-grade. Seed Science Research 31 (3): 199-210. doi:10.1017/S0960258521000209; Dahlgren et al. 1985Dahlgren et al. 1985:
Dahlgren RMT, Clifford HT, and Yeo PF. 1985. The families of the monocotyledons: structure, evolution, and taxonomy. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. 520 pp.; Flora of North America Editorial Committee 1993+Flora of North America Editorial Committee 1993+:
Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 1993+. Flora of North America North of Mexico [Online]. 22+ vols. Flora of North America Association, New York and Oxford. Accessed January-March 2024. URL: http://beta.floranorthamerica.org.; 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 .; Kubitzki et al. 1990+Kubitzki et al. 1990+:
Kubitzki K et al., eds. 1990+. The families and genera of vascular plants. 7+ vols. Berlin etc.; Milne-Redhead 1952Milne-Redhead 1952:
Milne-Redhead E. 1952. Marantaceae. In: Turrill WB and Milne-Redhead E, eds. Flora of Tropical East Africa. Vol 106. Crown Agents for the Colonies, London UK.; Stevenson and Loconte 1995Stevenson and Loconte 1995:
Stevenson DW and Loconte H. 1995. A cladistic analysis of monocot families. In: Rudall PJ, Cribb PJ, Cutler DF, and Humphries CJ, eds. Monocotyledons: Systematics and Evolution. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.; Takhtajan 2009Takhtajan 2009:
Takhtajan A. 2009. Flowering plants: Second edition. Springer Nature, Switzerland. 871 pp.; Watson and Dallwitz 1992+Watson and Dallwitz 1992+:
Watson L and Dallwitz MJ. 1992+. The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval. Version: 6th Accessed September 2020-September 2022. URL: delta-intkey.com; Zhengyi et al. 2004+Zhengyi et al. 2004+:
Zhengyi W, Raven PH, and Deyuan H. 2004+. Flora of China [online]. 25 vols. Science Press, Beijing China & Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis USA. Accessed January–March 2024. http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/
*The number of genera and species is based on Christenhusz and Byng 2016Christenhusz and Byng 2016:
Christenhusz MJM and Byng JW. 2016. The number of known plant species in the world and its annual increase. Phytotaxa 261 (3): 201-217. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1, which may differ from the number of genera in GRIN-Global.
Authors: M. Islam, A. Gottlieb, M. Maher, J. Scher, A. Redford
Content last updated August 2024
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