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Common name: Cape-pondweed Family.
Number of genera 1. Number of species 44.
Angiosperm. Liliopsida.
Disseminule a dehisced fruit, or a seed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound; 2–5 to 6–10; (2–)3–6(–9)-pistillate (basally and adaxially coherent for about 1/2-two thirds for their length [Cronquist 1981]); with carpels nearly separate to base. Fruit pericarpium; simple, or multiple; achene, or follicle (of authors, but neither Spjut); follicetum; without persistent central column; not within accessory organ(s); (2–)3–6(–9)-carpellate (or more); with carpels separate; with carpels separating at maturity; with carpels not radiating at maturity; without sterile carpels; not sulcate; apex not beaked; wall leathery; dehiscent. Dehiscent unit seed(s). Dehiscent regularly; and shedding seeds; without replum. Epicarp durable; without armature; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Endocarp present; not separating from exocarp; thin; without operculum; without secretory cavities; without longitudinal ridges. Funiculus short; short without seed bearing hooks (retinacula); not persisting in fruit after seed shed.
Seeds
Aril absent. Seed larger than minute; 1 to less than 5 mm long; 2–2.5 mm long; not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s); at maturity with food reserves, or without apparent food reserves; with endosperm; without canavanine. Sarcotesta present; hard. Testa present; without fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; loose; surface smooth, or unsmooth; surface with merged raised features; surface longitudinally ribbed, or wrinkled; 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; without collar; without operculum; transparent (outer but inner brown); monochrome; sub spongy; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding embryo. Endosperm development helobial (later becoming cellular); trace; without fatty acid containing cyclopropene; without apical lobes; without chlorophyll; without isodiametric faceted surface; without odor.
Embryo differentiated from food reserve; well developed; 1 per seed; partially filling testa (with food reserve); at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric; linear (and Goldberg, curved; Cronquist straight and supported by others); without coleoptile; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 1 cotyledon. Cotyledons one and terminal with lateral plumule, or terminal; not modified into scutellum; not circinately coiled. Hypocotyl-radicle vestigial (assumed); not thickened. Plumule undeveloped, or moderately developed; lateral and fitting into groove along terminal cotyledon, or lateral and not fitting into groove along terminal cotyledon; lateral and nearly basal, or basal and closed sheathing cotyledons and lying in groove of enlarged hypocotyl.
Distribution
Old World. Africa (tropical to South).
Notes
Goldberg: Achenes [scored], nutlets, or druplets [latter two not scored]. Dahlgren et al.:"Gynoecium develops into multifollicle, where the individual follicles are nearly free from each other". [Follicle scored]. Bruggen (1968): When testa is 1-layered, seeds float on surface because envelope consists of bouyant tissue. After a few hours testa decays and embryo sinks to bottom. When testa is 2-layered. seeds have no floating power and sink to bottom at once.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Aponogeton L. f., nom. cons. --
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 1060. Bruggen, H.W.E. van. 1970. Revision of the genus Aponogeton (Aponogetonaceae): IV. The species of Asia and Malesia. Blumea 18:457–487; Bruggen, H.W.E. van. 1968. Revison of the genus Aponogeton (Aponogetonaceae): I. The species of Madagascar. Blumea 16:243–265.
General references
Cronquist, A. 1981. An integrated system of classification of flowering plants, 1,262 p. Columbia University Press, New York, Dahlgren, R.M.T., H.T. Clifford and P.F. Yeo. 1985. The families of the monocotyledons, 520 pp. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 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, Mabberley, D.J. 1987. The plant-book, 706 p. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, Spjut, R.W. 1994. A systematic treatment of fruit types. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 70:1–182.
Illustrations
Acceptable seed illustration No fruit illustration. Cronquist has no illustration. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Seed illustration(s): Gunn & Ritchie, Bruggen (1970), Karen. Embryo illustration(s): Gunn & Ritchie, Karen. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 324: Aponogeton [cannot read sp. name] (A-B).
• Fruit. 1 of 3. Aponogeton distachyos L. f.: fruit and fruiting head. • Seed. 2 of 3. Aponogeton distachyos L. f.: seeds. • Embryo. 3 of 3. Aponogeton madagascariensis (Mirbel) van Bruggen: 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’.
