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 indehiscent, acheneachene:
a dry, indehiscent, one-seeded fruit, with seed attached to pericarp at a single point
or thin-walled nutletnutlet:
˜achene
enclosed within persistent hard or fleshyfleshy:
texture—fairly firm and dense, juicy or at least moist, and easily cut
calyxcalyx:
the outer whorl of the perianth; all the sepals of a flower
, forming an anthocarp, except in Leucastereae (Andradea, Leucaster, Ramisia, Reichenbachia), 1.8–52 mm long, rarely to 100 mm (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 transectiontransection:
a cross section; representing a plane made by cutting across an organ at a right angle to its length
, 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), 1-seeded. Anthocarp 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:
consisting mainly of indurate lignified tissues, characteristic of or resembling wood
, corkycorky:
firm, relatively light, discontinuous but strongly cohesive, and resilient
, fleshyfleshy:
texture—fairly firm and dense, juicy or at least moist, and easily cut
, 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 anthocarps, pericarppericarp:
fruit wall or fruit coat
is not visible. Fruit often mucilaginousmucilaginous:
resembling mucilage; moist and sticky
when wetted.

Seed 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	achene achene: a dry, indehiscent, one-seeded fruit, with seed attached to pericarp at a single point or thin-walled nutletnutlet: ˜achene enclosed within persistent hard or fleshyfleshy: texture—fairly firm and dense, juicy or at least moist, and easily cut calyx
Size range	1.8–52 mm long, rarely to 100 mm (Ceodes longirostris)
Shape(s)	globose, 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) , obpyramidal
Texture	leathery, woodywoody: consisting mainly of indurate lignified tissues, characteristic of or resembling wood , corkycorky: firm, relatively light, discontinuous but strongly cohesive, and resilient , fleshyfleshy: texture—fairly firm and dense, juicy or at least moist, and easily cut , spongy
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, fleshyfleshy: texture—fairly firm and dense, juicy or at least moist, and easily cut 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 tissuenutritive tissue: tissue within the seeds that nourishes the developing embryo; such as endosperm, perisperm, or chalazosperm in angiosperms; megagametophyte in gymnosperms	perisperm perisperm: 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

Acevedo-Rodríguez et al. 2015 onwardsAcevedo-Rodríguez et al. 2015 onwards:
Acevedo-Rodríguez P et al. 2015 onwards. Lianas and climbing plants of the Neotropics. URL: https://naturalhistory.si.edu/research/botany/research/lianas-and-climbing-plants-neotropics; Bingham et al. 2021+Bingham et al. 2021+:
Bingham MG, Willeman A, Wursten BT, Ballings P, and Hyde MA. 2021. Flora of Zambia. Accessed January 2021–April 2024. URL: https://www.zambiaflora.com; Bautista et al. 2022Bautista et al. 2022:
Bautista MAC, Zheng Y, Boufford DE, Hu Z, Deng Y, and Chen T. 2022. Phylogeny and taxonomic synopsis of the genus Bougainvillea (Nyctaginaceae). Plants 11: 1700. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11131700; Bohlin 1988Bohlin 1988:
Bohlin JE. 1988. A monograph of the genus Colignonia (Nyctaginaceae). Nordic Journal of Botany 8: 231–252. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1756-1051.1988.tb01716.x; Caraballo-Ortiz and Trejo-Torres 2017Caraballo-Ortiz and Trejo-Torres 2017:
Caraballo-Ortiz MA and Trejo-Torres JC. 2017. Two new endemic tree species from Puerto Rico: Pisonia horneae and Pisonia roqueae (Nyctaginaceae). PhytoKeys 86: 97–115. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.86.11249; da Silva Costa et al. 2023ada Silva Costa et al. 2023a:
da Silva Costa D, Dos Santos Batista CA, and Rossetto EFS. 2023. Two new species of Neea (Nyctaginaceae: Pisonieae) from humid forests in northern and northeastern Brazil. Kew Bull 78: 547–556. https://doi-org.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/10.1007/s12225-023-10126-8; da Silva Costa et al. 2023bda Silva Costa et al. 2023b:
da Silva Costa D, Sandoli Rossetto EF, and Terra Araujo MH. 2023. A new species of Neea (Pisonieae, Nyctaginaceae) from central and eastern Amazonia, Brazil, with a note on the typification of Neea ovalifolia. Brittonia 75: 307–317. https://doi-org.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/10.1007/s12228-023-09746-y; de Oliveira Chagas and da Costa-Lima 2020de Oliveira Chagas and da Costa-Lima 2020:
de Oliveira Chagas EC and da Costa-Lima JL. 2020. Re-Evaluation of some Brazilian Guapira (Nyctaginaceae) Names: A new species, nomenclatural changes and typifications. Systematic Botany 45: 173–182.; Douglas and Spellenberg 2010Douglas and Spellenberg 2010:
Douglas N and Spellenberg R. 2010. A new tribal classification of Nyctaginaceae. Taxon 59: 905–910.; Flora of North America Editorial Committee 1993+Flora of North America Editorial Committee 1993+:
Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 1993+. Flora of North America North of Mexico [Online]. 22+ vols. Flora of North America Association, New York and Oxford. Accessed January-March 2024. URL: http://beta.floranorthamerica.org.; Friis et al. 2016Friis et al. 2016:
Friis I, Gilbert MG, Weber O, and Demissew S. 2016. Two distinctive new species of Commicarpus (Nyctaginaceae) from gypsum outcrops in eastern Ethiopia. Kew Bulletin 71(3). https://doi.org/10.1007%2FS12225-016-9648-3; Harriman 1999Harriman 1999:
Harriman NA. 1999. Synopsis of new world Commicarpus (Nyctaginaceae). SIDA 18: 679-684.; Kellogg 1988Kellogg 1988:
Kellogg EA. 1988. Nyctaginaceae. Flora of the Lesser Antilles, Leeward and Windward Islands 4: 173–186.; 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.; Lentz and Dickau 2005Lentz and Dickau 2005:
Lentz DL and Dickau R. 2005. Seeds of Central America and Southern Mexico: The Economic Species. The New York Botanical Garden Press, New York. 298 pp.; Pignal et al. 2013Pignal et al. 2013:
Pignal M, de Oliveira Soares Filho A, and Romaniuc Neto S. 2013. Une nouvelle espèce de Neea Ruiz & Pav. (Nyctaginaceae) de la forêt atlantique de l'état de Bahia (Brésil). Adansonia 35: 19–31.; Prasanth Ravichandran et al. 2020Prasanth Ravichandran et al. 2020:
Prasanth Ravichandran A, Sardesai MM, and Yadav SR. 2020. Taxonomic and nomenclatural notes on Boerhavia (Nyctaginaceae) in India. Phytotaxa 455: 277–286. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.455.4.5; Sandoli Rossetto et al. 2019Sandoli Rossetto et al. 2019:
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:
Sandoli Rossetto EF and Caraballo-Ortiz MA. 2020. Splitting the Pisonia birdcatcher trees: re-establishment of Ceodes and Rockia (Nyctaginaceae, Pisonieae). PhytoKeys 152: 121–136. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.152.50611; Sandoli Rossetto and Roberto Ferraz 2020Sandoli Rossetto and Roberto Ferraz 2020:
Sandoli Rossetto EF and Roberto Ferraz J. 2020. Guapira siqueirae (Nyctaginaceae, Pisonieae), a new species from Espírito Santo State, Brazil. Phytotaxa 460: 143–148. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.460.2.4; Sandoval-Ortega et al. 2020Sandoval-Ortega et al. 2020:
Sandoval-Ortega MH, Siqueiros-Delgado ME, Cerros-Tlatilpa R, and Ocampo G. 2020. La família Nyctaginaceae (Caryophyllales) en Aguascalientes, México. Acta Bot. Mexicana 127: 1–40; Struwig and Siebert 2013Struwig and Siebert 2013:
Struwig M and Siebert SJ. 2013. A taxonomic revision of Commicarpus (Nyctaginaceae) in southern Africa. South African Journal of Botany 84: 44–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2012.09.009; Struwig et al. 2015Struwig et al. 2015:
Struwig M, Klaassen ES, and EG Kwembeya. 2015. Nyctaginaceae: A taxonomic treatment for the Flora of Namibia. Phytotaxa 238: 101–135. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.238.2.1; Takhtajan 2009Takhtajan 2009:
Takhtajan A. 2009. Flowering plants: Second edition. Springer Nature, Switzerland. 871 pp.; Tillett 1967Tillett 1967:
Tillett SS. 1967. The maritime species of Abronia (Nyctaginaceae). Brittonia 19: 299–327. https://doi.org/10.2307/2805531; Tropicos.org 2021+Tropicos.org 2021+:
Tropicos.org. 2021+. Pakistan Plant Database. Missouri Botanical Garden. Accessed January 2021–April 2024. http://legacy.tropicos.org/Project/Pakistan; Tutin et al. 1964–1980Tutin et al. 1964–1980:
Tutin TG, Burges NA, Chater AO, Edmondson JR, Heywood VH, Moore DM, Valentine DH, Walters SM, and Webb DA (eds.) 1964–1980. Flora Europaea. 5 vols. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK. 2,524 pp.; Zhengyi et al. 2004+Zhengyi et al. 2004+:
Zhengyi W, Raven PH, and Deyuan H. 2004+. Flora of China [online]. 25 vols. Science Press, Beijing China & Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis USA. Accessed January–March 2024. http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/

*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.