Nyctaginaceae

Taxonomy

Family Name: Nyctaginaceae Jussieu

Synonym(s): Allioniaceae Horan.; Bougainvilleaceae J. Agardh; Mirabilidaceae W. R. B. Oliv.; Pisoniaceae J. Agardh

Common Name(s): four o'clock family

*Number of genera/species: 31/400

List of genera records in GRIN-Global

Disseminule

fruit

Description

Fruit an acheneachene:
a dry, indehiscent, one-seeded fruit, with seed attached to pericarp at a single point, derived from a single, superior, simple or compound, one-loculed ovary
or thin-walled nutletnutlet:
˜achene
enclosed within a persistent hard or fleshy calyxcalyx:
the outer whorl of the perianth; all the sepals of a flower
, forming an anthocarpanthocarp:
simple or compound and including some tissue of non-ovarian origin (accessory tissue)
, except in Leucastereae (Andradea, Leucaster, Ramisia, Reichenbachia), 1.8–52 mm long, rarely to 100 mm long (Ceodes longirostris), usually elongated, ellipsoidalellipsoid:
3D shape—elliptic
to clavateclavate:
3D shape—club-shaped, with attachment at or near narrow end (compare obclavate)
, tereteterete:
approximately circular in cross section; width and thickness approximately equal
in transection, stylestyle:
in a flower, the narrow and elongated part of the pistil between the stigma and the ovary; sometimes persisting in fruit
persistent, short beakedbeak:
a usually firm, terminal appendage, sometimes tapered
or not, margins longitudinally lobed, ribbedribbed:
surface relief—wide, prominent, linear ridges that are generally rounded and longitudinally situated on the surface
, or forming wings (2–5) (then fruit samara-like), with one seed. Anthocarpanthocarp:
simple or compound and including some tissue of non-ovarian origin (accessory tissue)
wall (or pericarppericarp:
fruit wall or fruit coat
in Leucastereae) usually black or brown, dulldull:
reflecting only a low proportion of incident light, with no apparent sheen
, leatheryleathery:
texture—moderately thick, tough, and very pliable
, woodywoody:
texture—consisting mainly of indurate lignified tissues, characteristic of or resembling wood
, corkycorky:
firm, relatively light, discontinuous but strongly cohesive, and resilient
, fleshy, or spongyspongy:
soft, light, discontinuous but cohesive, and somewhat resilient
, glabrousglabrous:
without hairs
or pubescentpubescent:
surface relief—bearing hairs
, often glandularglandular:
surface relief—covered with small, raised secretory glands, regular or irregularly shaped, translucent or opaque, and maybe distinctly colored
(viscid glands or glandularglandular:
surface relief—covered with small, raised secretory glands, regular or irregularly shaped, translucent or opaque, and maybe distinctly colored
pubescence), smooth or deeply sulcatesulcate:
surface relief—having one or more elongate, relatively narrow and shallow depressions or grooves
or groovedgrooved:
surface relief—linear depressions that may be single or form a series of grooves over the surface
, 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
, papillatepapillate:
surface relief—bearing minute, distinct, broad-based projections, tapering to a rounded apex
, or spinose. In anthocarpsanthocarp:
simple or compound and including some tissue of non-ovarian origin (accessory tissue)
, pericarppericarp:
fruit wall or fruit coat
is not visible. Fruits often mucilaginousmucilaginous:
resembling mucilage; moist and sticky
when wetted.

Seeds similar in size and shape to fruit. Seed coat if adnate to pericarppericarp:
fruit wall or fruit coat
, embryo slightly curvedcurved:
(of embryo) linear embryo is curved into an arch or horseshoe with the ends far apart
or straight or if distinct from pericarppericarp:
fruit wall or fruit coat
, then with 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
embryo. Seed coat brown, membranousmembranous:
texture—extremely thin, pliable, and fairly tough
, smooth.

Embryo well developed, nearly filling or partially filling seed cavity, peripheralperipheral:
(of embryo) embryo is curved around the outer edge of the seed, near the seed coat
, conicalconical:
3D shape—cone-shaped, with the point of attachment at the broad end
or foliatefoliate:
appearing leaf-like
, hooked, curvedcurved:
(of embryo) linear embryo is curved into an arch or horseshoe with the ends far apart
, 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
, annularannular:
3D shape—forming a ring
, or straight in Pisonieae, green.

Perispermperisperm:
seed nutritive tissue comparable to the endosperm, but derived from the nucellus (maternal tissue)
usually scanty in ripe seeds.

Identification features

Fruit
Type	acheneachene: a dry, indehiscent, one-seeded fruit, with seed attached to pericarp at a single point, derived from a single, superior, simple or compound, one-loculed ovary , thin-walled nutletnutlet: ˜achene enclosed within persistent hard, fleshy calyxcalyx: the outer whorl of the perianth; all the sepals of a flower
Size range	1.8–52 mm long, rarely to 100 mm long (Ceodes longirostris)
Shape(s)	globoseglobose: 3D shape—more or less spherical , ellipsoidalellipsoid: 3D shape—elliptic , fusiformfusiform: spindle-shaped; broadest at the middle and tapering at both ends , turbinateturbinate: 3D shape—broadly obovoid-obconic , clavateclavate: 3D shape—club-shaped, with attachment at or near narrow end (compare obclavate) , obpyramidalobpyramidal: 3D shape—pyramid-shaped, with point of attachment at or near narrow end (compare pyramidal)
Texture	leatheryleathery: texture—moderately thick, tough, and very pliable , woodywoody: texture—consisting mainly of indurate lignified tissues, characteristic of or resembling wood , corkycorky: firm, relatively light, discontinuous but strongly cohesive, and resilient , fleshy, spongyspongy: soft, light, discontinuous but cohesive, and somewhat resilient
Surface relief	often glandularglandular: surface relief—covered with small, raised secretory glands, regular or irregularly shaped, translucent or opaque, and maybe distinctly colored , smooth or lobed, deeply sulcatesulcate: surface relief—having one or more elongate, relatively narrow and shallow depressions or grooves or groovedgrooved: surface relief—linear depressions that may be single or form a series of grooves over the surface , ribbedribbed: surface relief—wide, prominent, linear ridges that are generally rounded and longitudinally situated on the surface , winged, 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 , papillatepapillate: surface relief—bearing minute, distinct, broad-based projections, tapering to a rounded apex , spinose
Color(s)	black, gray, green, brown, reddish brown, yellow, orange-red, white
Unique features	Black, brown, or green, fleshy or hardened, viscid, elongate, 1-seeded fruits with grooves, ribs, or warts or with 2 to 5 longitudinallongitudinal: of or relating to length or the lengthwise dimension wings.
Other
Embryo	well developed, nearly filling or partially filling seed cavity, peripheralperipheral: (of embryo) embryo is curved around the outer edge of the seed, near the seed coat or axileaxile: on or of the axis and centric (Pisonieae), conicalconical: 3D shape—cone-shaped, with the point of attachment at the broad end or foliatefoliate: appearing leaf-like , hooked, curvedcurved: (of embryo) linear embryo is curved into an arch or horseshoe with the ends far apart , 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 , annularannular: 3D shape—forming a ring , or straight in Pisonieae
Nutritive tissue	perispermperisperm: seed nutritive tissue comparable to the endosperm, but derived from the nucellus (maternal tissue) usually scanty in ripe seeds

Distribution

Tropical and subtropical regions

Distribution map courtesy of Angiosperm Phylogeny Website.

References

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Sandoli Rossetto EF, Oliveira Santos P, Silva Costa D, and Roberto Ferraz J. 2019. Neea itanhaensis (Nyctaginaceae, Pisonieae), a new species from São Paulo State, Brazil. Phytotaxa 415: 225–232. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.415.4.7; Sandoli Rossetto and Caraballo-Ortiz 2020Sandoli Rossetto and Caraballo-Ortiz 2020:
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*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.