Pinaceae

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

Pinaceae Adanson

Common name: Pine Family.

Number of genera: 10 genera.

Number of species (Mabberley 1997): 194 species.

Disseminule

Cone, or seed.

Description

Cones: Dry; compound cone when dry (Spjut Fig. 23C-E & 2 families: Pinaceae, Welwitschiaceae); ovoidovoid:
3D shape—ovate
, or globoseglobose:
3D shape—more or less spherical
; symmetrical, or asymmetrical; with scales; scales with separate subtending bracts. Fruiting scales present; dry; persisting; woodywoody:
texture—consisting mainly of indurate lignified tissues, characteristic of or resembling wood
.

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, or 10 to less than 25 mm long; 4–21 mm long (without wing); oblongoblong:
2D shape—much longer than broad with nearly parallel sides, corners are rounded
, 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)
, or obovoidobovoid:
3D shape—obovate
; not bowl shaped; 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 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; with markedly different marginalmarginal:
at, on, or close to the margin or border
tissue, or without markedly different marginalmarginal:
at, on, or close to the margin or border
tissue (rarely); marginalmarginal:
at, on, or close to the margin or border
tissue winglike; 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
; surface unsmooth; surface with merged raised features; surface roughenedroughened:
texture—having a small, stout, stiff, more or less acute protrusions
(wings 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; resin with glands, or without glands; without bristles; glabrousglabrous:
without hairs
; with wing(s), or without wings (few Pinus spp.); 1-winged (& wing arising from scalescale:
general term for short, thin, flat bracts or hairs
tissue); 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 food reserve. 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
punctate. Endospermendosperm:
nutritive starch- and oil-containing tissue present in many seeds
hard, or fleshyfleshy:
texture—fairly firm and dense, juicy or at least moist, and easily cut
; without starch; 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 (only 1 of several mature); partially filling testatesta:
seed coat
(with food reserve); chamber basalbasal:
at or pertaining to the point of attachment; (of embryo) embryo occupies one end of the seed
to wing; 0.8 times the length of food reserve (estimated); 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 (somewhat in some spp.); parallel to seed length; embedded in perispermperisperm:
seed nutritive tissue comparable to the endosperm, but derived from the nucellus (maternal tissue)
; with cotyledons gradually connected to hypocotyl-radicle, or abruptly connected to hypocotyl-radicle (barely); without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2 to 11 (to 18); well developed; 0.4 times length of embryo; as wide as hypocotyl-radicle; 1–1.25 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle (estimated); not concealing hypocotyl-radicle; not foliaceous; thinthin:
having or being of relatively little depth
; 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: Northern hemisphere chiefly. New World and Old World.

Detailed distribution: North America, Middle America, Europe, Asia Major, and Asia Southeastern.

Notes

Notes: Do seeds possess perispermperisperm:
seed nutritive tissue comparable to the endosperm, but derived from the nucellus (maternal tissue)
as well as endosperm? Page (In: Kramer & Green): "Seed is shed gradually either by the parting of cone scales at maturity in Larix, Cathaya, Pseudotsuga, Keteleeria, Nothotsuga, (sic) Tsuga, Picea, and Pinus, or by dismemberment of the whole cone in Pseudolarix, Cedrus, and Abies. In Cedrus and Abies the central columellacolumella:
any pedestal-like prolongation of a floral receptacle extending beyond the distalmost level of perianth insertion and bearing the gynoecium; the stalk supporting a mericarp after dehiscence of a schizocarpic fruit, the central axis of the fruit having split longitudinally to yield two or four such stalks; composed of receptacular and (primarily) gynoecial tissues, especially in Apiaceae. See carpophore.
of the cone is usually left attached to the shoot".

References

General references: 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, 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, Page, C.N. 1990. Coniferophytina (Conifers and Ginkgoids). In: Kubitzki, K., ed., The families and genera of vascular plants, pp. 282–361. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 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, 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.