Strelitziaceae

Taxonomy

Family name: Strelitziaceae (K. Schumann) J. Huchinson

Synonym(s): [none]

Common name(s): bird-of-paradise-flower family

*Number of genera/species: 3/7

List of genera records in GRIN-Global

Disseminule

fruit or seed

Description

Fruit a loculicidalloculicidal:
type of capsular dehiscence, opening longitudinally through the locules (compare septicidal)
capsulecapsule:
a dry, dehiscent fruit derived from a compound ovary
, 11–70 mm long, oblongoblong:
2D shape—much longer than broad with nearly parallel sides, corners are rounded
or 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, beakedbeak:
a usually firm, terminal appendage, sometimes tapered
(sometimes short or dehiscentdehiscent:
(v. dehisce) splitting open at maturity to release contents (of a fruit)
), with many seeds. Pericarppericarp:
fruit wall or fruit coat
brown, woodywoody:
texture—consisting mainly of indurate lignified tissues, characteristic of or resembling wood
.

Seeds globoseglobose:
3D shape—more or less spherical
, tereteterete:
approximately circular in cross section; width and thickness approximately equal
or flattened in transection, with rudimentaryrudimentary:
(of embryo) embryo is small and fills less than a quarter of the seed and can be variable in shapes, such as linear, spatulate, or oval
or well developed (Ravenela) opercula without micropylar collarsmicropylar collar:
collar shaped tissue at micropyle
. Seed coat brown or black, shinyshiny:
uniformly reflecting a high proportion of incident light at all angles
, with blue (Ravenela), orange (Strelitzia), or red (Phenakospermum) dense hairlike 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
, hard, smooth or striatestriate:
surface relief—having fine, parallel lines, grooves or ridges
. 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
well-developed, adnate to 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
or seed coat, and fleshy.

Embryo large, capitatecapitate:
head-shaped; abruptly enlarged on one end to a relatively short, terminal portion
, straight or curvedcurved:
(of embryo) linear embryo is curved into an arch or horseshoe with the ends far apart
.

Endosperm copious, mealymealy:
loose, dry, and disintegrating in finely granular pieces like meal or flour
.

Identification features

Fruit
Type	capsulecapsule: a dry, dehiscent fruit derived from a compound ovary
Size range	11–70 mm long
Shape(s)	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
Texture	woodywoody: texture—consisting mainly of indurate lignified tissues, characteristic of or resembling wood
Color(s)	brown
Unique features	Brown, woodywoody: texture—consisting mainly of indurate lignified tissues, characteristic of or resembling wood , beakedbeak: a usually firm, terminal appendage, sometimes tapered capsules with globoseglobose: 3D shape—more or less spherical arillate seeds.
Seed
Shape(s)	globoseglobose: 3D shape—more or less spherical
Surface relief	smooth, striatestriate: surface relief—having fine, parallel lines, grooves or ridges
Color(s)	brown, black
Unique features	Brown or black, globoseglobose: 3D shape—more or less spherical , smooth or striatestriate: surface relief—having fine, parallel lines, grooves or ridges seeds with brightly colored, dense hair-like coverings or lacinate lobes of 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 .
Other
Embryo	large, capitatecapitate: head-shaped; abruptly enlarged on one end to a relatively short, terminal portion , straight or curvedcurved: (of embryo) linear embryo is curved into an arch or horseshoe with the ends far apart
Nutritive tissue	endosperm copious, mealymealy: loose, dry, and disintegrating in finely granular pieces like meal or flour

Distribution

Tropical South America, southern Africa, and Madagascar.

Distribution map courtesy of Angiosperm Phylogeny Website.

References

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.; 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.; 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.

*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.