| | Family guide for fruits and seeds |
Synonyms: Cartonemataceae Pichon, nom. cons.; Tradescantiaceae Salisb.
Common name: Spiderwort Family.
Number of genera 39. Number of species 620.
Angiosperm. Liliopsida.
Disseminule a dehisced fruit, or an intact or entire fruit, or a seed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels united. Fruit pericarpium; simple; capsule, or berry (baccate or baccaform in Palisota & Phaeophaerion, but not Spjut); loculicidal capsule; capsule not inflated; capsule without operculum; berry indehiscent; berry without central placental mass; without persistent central column; within accessory organ(s); within perianth; (2–)3-carpellate; with carpels united; with carpels remaining united at maturity; with carpels remaining connected at style; without sterile carpels; in transection angled; 2–3-angled; apex not beaked; wall membranaceous (including parchmentlike Commelinopsis), or leathery, or crustaceous (Pollia); dehiscent, or indehiscent. Dehiscent unit seed(s). Dehiscent regularly; and shedding seeds; without replum. Epicarp durable; glabrous (without hairs), or not glabrous (with hairs); hairs yellow; hairs not glandular; without armature; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp present, or absent; fleshy, or dry; composed of 1 unified layer; without lactiform cavity system. Endocarp present, or absent; not separating from exocarp; thin; not splitting into 1-seeded pyrenes; smooth; without wing; without operculum; without secretory cavities; without mechanism for seedling escape; without grooves; without longitudinal ridges. Funiculus short; short without seed bearing hooks (retinacula); not persisting in fruit after seed shed.
Seeds
Aril Amishotolype, Dichorisandra, Porandra present, or absent; a true aril; adnate to testa. Seed larger than minute; angular, or ovate, or square; in transection compressed; not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s); at maturity with food reserves; with endosperm; without canavanine. Sarcotesta absent. Testa present; without markedly different marginal tissue; without fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; tight; dull; surface unsmooth; surface with depressed features, or discreet raised features, or merged raised features; surface pitted, or punctate; surface granular, or tuberculate, or warted; surface reticulate, or ribbed (transversely), or rugose, or sculptured; 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; glabrous; without wings, or with wing(s) (Aetheolirion); without collar; with operculum (embryostega); colored; monochrome; black; bony, or membranous; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Hilum punctate, or larger than punctate; marginal; linear, or irregular. Endosperm development nuclear and cellular (at first nuclear later cellular); copious; mealy; smooth; with starch; with compound starch grains; without fatty acid containing cyclopropene; without apical lobes; without chlorophyll; without isodiametric faceted surface; without odor.
Embryo differentiated from food reserve; well developed, or rudimentary; 1 per seed; partially filling testa (with food reserve); 0.3 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; basal; miniature (Cartonema); capitate; straight; without coleoptile; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 1 cotyledon (2nd vestigal cotyledon may be opposite). Cotyledons one and lateral with terminal plumule; not modified into scutellum; not circinately coiled. Hypocotyl-radicle vestigial; not thickened.
Distribution
Cosmopolitan. New World, Old World. North America, Middle America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia Major, Asia Minor, southeastern Asia, Australia, Oceania.
Notes
Spjut recorded only loculicidal capsule, but Faden in Dalhgren et al. noted: "sometimes indehiscent and usually baccate or baccaform". Faden also noted "operculum (embryotega or embryostega)". Martin: Tradescantea only genus in family with distinctly capitate embryo; Commelina intermediate; Aneilema broad type. Embryo 1.3–1.7 times longer than wide.
Weed information
1 or more USA Federal noxious weeds, 1 or more USA state noxious weeds.
USA Federal noxious weeds: -- Commelina benghalensis L.: USA Federal Noxious Weed●; USA state noxious weed: FL●, MA●, NC●. -- Symbols: ªaquatic weed; ●terrestrial weed; °weed in seed. -- Last updated September 2008.
USA states and territories with listed noxious weeds: Florida (FL), Massachusetts (MA), North Carolina (NC), Washington (WA).
USA state and territory noxious weeds: -- Commelina benghalensis L.: USA Federal Noxious Weed●; USA state noxious weed: FL●, MA●, NC●. -- Murdannia keisak (Hassk.) Hand.-Mazz.: USA state noxious weed: WAª. -- Symbols: ªaquatic weed; ●terrestrial weed; °weed in seed. -- Last updated September 2008.
Listed seeds
ASOA listed seeds, ISTA listed seeds.
ASOA listed seeds: -- Commelina benghalensis L. -- Commelina communis L. -- Tradescantia L. spp. -- Tradescantia virginiana L. -- Last updated September 2008.
ISTA listed seeds: -- Commelina benghalensis L.w -- Commelina virginica L. -- Cyanotis axillaris (L.) D. Donw -- Symbols: aagricultural and vegetable seeds (Table 2A Part 1); ttree and shrub species (Table 2A Part 2); fflower, spice, herb, and medicinal seeds (Table 2A Part 3); wweed seeds. -- Last updated September 2008.
Accepted genera
Aetheolirion Forman -- Amischotolype Hassk. -- Aneilema R. Br. -- Anthericopsis Engl. -- Belosynapsis Hassk. -- Buforrestia C. B. Clarke -- Callisia Loefl. -- Cartonema R. Br. -- Cochliostema Lem. -- Coleotrype C. B. Clarke -- Commelina L. -- Cyanotis D. Don, nom. cons. -- Dichorisandra J. C. Mikan, nom. cons. -- Dictyospermum Wight -- Elasis D. R. Hunt -- Floscopa Lour. -- Geogenanthus Ule -- Gibasis Raf. -- Gibasoides D. R. Hunt -- Matudanthus D. R. Hunt -- Murdannia Royle, nom. cons. -- Palisota Rchb. ex Endl., nom. cons. -- Pollia Thunb. -- Polyspatha Benth. -- Porandra D. Y. Hong -- Pseudoparis H. Perrier -- Rhopalephora Hassk. -- Sauvallea C. Wright -- Siderasis Raf. -- Spatholirion Ridl. -- Stanfieldiella Brenan -- Streptolirion Edgew. -- Thyrsanthemum Pichon -- Tinantia Scheidw., nom. cons. -- Tradescantia L. -- Tricarpelema J. K. Morton -- Triceratella Brenan -- Tripogandra Raf. -- Weldenia Schult. f.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 1113. Brenan, J.P.M. 1966. The classification of Commelinaceae. J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 59:349–395.
General references
Cronquist, A. 1981. An integrated system of classification of flowering plants, 1,262 p. Columbia University Press, New York, Engler, A. and 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) and 1989 (monocots). Classification, evolution, and phylogeny of the familes of Dicotyledons. Smithsonian Contr. Bot. 58 for dicots (314 pp.) and 71 for monocots (74 pp.). [Goldberg's illustrations are reproduced from older publications and these should be consulted], Gunn, C.R. and C.A. Ritchie. 1988. Identification of disseminules listed in the Federal Noxious Weed Act. Techn. Bull. U.S.D.A. 1719:1–313, Gunn, C.R., J.H. Wiersema, C.A. Ritchie, and J.H. Kirkbride, Jr. 1992 and amendments. Families and genera of Spermatophytes recognized by the Agricultural Research Service. Techn. Bull. U.S.D.A. 1796:1–500, LeMaout, E. and J. Decaisne. 1876. A general system of botany, 1,065 p. Longmans, Green, and Co., London, 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, Spjut, R.W. 1994. A systematic treatment of fruit types. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 70:1–182.
Illustrations
Poor fruit and acceptable seed illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): Brenan (1966). Seed illustration(s): LeMaout & Decaisne, Engler & Prantl, Gunn & Ritchie, Dalhgren et al. Embryo illustration(s): LeMaout & Decaisne, Engler & Prantl, Gunn & Ritchie, Martin.
• Fruit. 1 of 14. Cartonema spicatum R. Br.: fruit with calyx. • Seed. 2 of 14. Cartonema spicatum R. Br.: seeds. • Fruit. 3 of 14. Commelina coelestis Willd.: fruits. • Seed. 4 of 14. Commelina coelestis Willd.: seeds. • Fruit. 5 of 14. Cyanotis cristata D. Don: fruit with bracts. • Fruit. 6 of 14. Cyanotis cristata D. Don: fruit. • Seed. 7 of 14. Cyanotis cristata D. Don: seeds. • Seed. 8 of 14. Tradescantia bracteata Small: seeds. • Embryo. 9 of 14. Commelina africana L.: embryo. • Embryo. 10 of 14. Commelina latifolia Hochst. ex A. Rich.: embryo. • Embryo. 11 of 14. Commelina subulata Roth: embryo. • Embryo. 12 of 14. Cyanotis axillaris (L.) D. Don: embryo. • Embryo. 13 of 14. Murdannia japonica (Thunb.) Faden: embryo. • Embryo. 14 of 14. Tradescantia crassifolia Cav.: embryo.
We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.
Cite this publication as: ‘J.H. Kirkbride, Jr., C.R. Gunn, and M.J. Dallwitz. 2000 onwards. Family guide for fruits and seeds: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval. Version: 12th April 2021. delta-intkey.com’.
