Burmanniaceae

Taxonomy

Family name: Burmanniaceae Blume

Synonym(s): Tripterellaceae Dumort., nom. illeg.

Common name(s): burmannia family

*Number of genera/species: 8/99

List of genera record in GRIN-Global

Disseminule

seed

Description

Fruit dehiscentdehiscent:
(v. dehisce) splitting open at maturity to release contents (of a fruit)
, capsulecapsule:
a dry, dehiscent fruit formed by two or more carpels
(except Asiatic Gymnosiphon spp.), usually 1–10 mm long, with exception of Campylosiphon (up to 14.5 mm), globoseglobose:
3D shape—more or less spherical
to cuneiformcuneiform:
=wedge-shaped
, rounded or angledangled:
2D shape—having sides that meet at acute or obtuse angles  
in transectiontransection:
a cross section; representing a plane made by cutting across an organ at a right angle to its length
, perianthperianth:
collective term for calyx and corolla of a flower
persistent at apexapex:
the point farthest from the point of attachment, or the "tip" of an organ
, sometimes with persistent stylestyle:
in a flower, the narrow and elongated part of the pistil between the stigma and the ovary; sometimes persisting in fruit
, many seeded. Capsulecapsule:
a dry, dehiscent fruit formed by two or more carpels
often longitudinally three winged or ribbedribbed:
surface relief—wide, prominent, linear ridges that are generally rounded and longitudinally situated on the surface
. Capsulecapsule:
a dry, dehiscent fruit formed by two or more carpels
dehiscence is irregular by withering between ribs, transversetransverse:
lying, situated, or placed across
by slits between the ribs or wings, loculicidalloculicidal:
type of capsular dehiscence, opening longitudinally through the locules (compare septicidal)
, or septicidalsepticidal:
type of capsular dehiscence, opening longitudinally by separating between the septa of adjacent carpels
. Pericarppericarp:
fruit wall or fruit coat
brown, white, green, yellow, purple, or gray, membranousmembranous:
texture—extremely thin, pliable, and fairly tough
, ribbedribbed:
surface relief—wide, prominent, linear ridges that are generally rounded and longitudinally situated on the surface
, reticulatereticulate:
surface relief—netted, raised walls or concave grooves forming a net-like surface pattern with flat, concave, or convex interspaces
, or wrinkledwrinkled:
surface relief—shallow, irregular folds and furrows covering the surface; appearing overall though crumpled and then spread out
.

Seed usually globoseglobose:
3D shape—more or less spherical
to C-shapedC-shaped:
2D-shape—semiannulate, curved into the shape of the letter 'C'
, minute and light (dust-like), with tight, colored seed coat, or rarely narrowly fusiformfusiform:
spindle-shaped; broadest at the middle and tapering at both ends
with loose, transparent seed coat (seeds appear white, Dictyostega). Seed winged due to thin extension of seed coat at both ends. Seed coat, if colored, brown, yellow, gray, green, or white, shinyshiny:
uniformly reflecting a high proportion of incident light at all angles
, thinthin:
having or being of relatively little depth
, glabrousglabrous:
without hairs
, smooth, reticulatereticulate:
surface relief—netted, raised walls or concave grooves forming a net-like surface pattern with flat, concave, or convex interspaces
, sculptured, ribbedribbed:
surface relief—wide, prominent, linear ridges that are generally rounded and longitudinally situated on the surface
, or wartywarty:
surface relief—distinct, rounded projections that are large relative to the fruit size; tuberculate, verrucose
. Funiculusfuniculus:
(alt. funicle) stalk connecting the ovule (later seed) to the ovary (later fruit) placenta
long or short (longer than the seeds, Cymbocarpa).

Embryo minute, rudimentaryrudimentary:
(of embryo) embryo is small and fills less than a quarter of the seed and can be variable in shapes, such as linear, spatulate, or oval
. Endospermendosperm:
nutritive starch- and oil-containing tissue present in many seeds
scanty.

Identification features

Fruit
Type	capsulecapsule: a dry, dehiscent fruit formed by two or more carpels
Size range	1–10(–14.5) mm long
Shape(s)	globose, ovoidovoid: 3D shape—ovate , ellipsoidellipsoid: 3D shape—elliptic , conicalconical: 3D shape—cone-shaped, with the point of attachment at the broad end , trigonoustrigonous: 3D shape—having three faces that meet at distinct angles; triangular in outline , cylindricalcylindrical: 3D shape—a cylinder, with parallel sides and a circular cross-section; tubular or rod-shaped , boat-shaped, cuneiform
Texture	membranousmembranous: texture—extremely thin, pliable, and fairly tough
Surface relief	ribbed, reticulatereticulate: surface relief—netted, raised walls or concave grooves forming a net-like surface pattern with flat, concave, or convex interspaces , wrinkled
Color(s)	brown, white, green, yellow, purple, gray
Unique features	Winged or ribbedribbed: surface relief—wide, prominent, linear ridges that are generally rounded and longitudinally situated on the surface capsulescapsules: a dry, dehiscent fruit formed by two or more carpels with persistent floral tube filledfilled: (of embryo) embryo fills the seed interior with the food reserves stored in the cotyledons; small amounts of endosperm may remain around the embryo with dust-like seeds.
Seed
Size range	0.2–1 mm long
Shape(s)	globose, ovoidovoid: 3D shape—ovate , ellipsoidellipsoid: 3D shape—elliptic , linearlinear: (shape) long, narrow, and uniform in width; (of embryo) embryo is straight and much longer than wide , fusiformfusiform: spindle-shaped; broadest at the middle and tapering at both ends , C-shaped
Surface relief	smooth, reticulatereticulate: surface relief—netted, raised walls or concave grooves forming a net-like surface pattern with flat, concave, or convex interspaces , sculptured, ribbedribbed: surface relief—wide, prominent, linear ridges that are generally rounded and longitudinally situated on the surface , warty
Color(s)	brown, yellow, gray, green, white
Unique features	Dust-like winged seeds.
Other
Embryo	miniature
Nutritive tissuenutritive tissue: tissue within the seeds that nourishes the developing embryo; such as endosperm, perisperm, or chalazosperm in angiosperms; megagametophyte in gymnosperms	endosperm endosperm: nutritive starch- and oil-containing tissue present in many seeds scanty

Distribution

Pan- and subtropical.

Distribution map courtesy of Angiosperm Phylogeny Website.

References

Baskin and Baskin 2021Baskin and Baskin 2021:
Baskin C and Baskin J. 2021. Relationship of the lateral embryo (in grasses) to other monocot embryos: A status up-grade. Seed Science Research 31 (3): 199-210. doi:10.1017/S0960258521000209; Cowley 1988Cowley 1988:
Cowley EJ. 1988. Burmanniaceae. In: Polhill RM, ed. Flora of Tropical East Africa. Vol 25. AA Balkema, Rotterdam Netherlands. 9 pp.; Dahlgren et al. 1985Dahlgren et al. 1985:
Dahlgren RMT, Clifford HT, and Yeo PF. 1985. The families of the monocotyledons: structure, evolution, and taxonomy. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. 520 pp.; Davidse et al. 2009–2018Davidse et al. 2009–2018:
Davidse GM, Sousa Sánchez M, Knapp S. and Chiang Cabrera F, eds. 2009–2018. Flora Mesoamericana. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO. Accessed: January–April 2024. URL: http://legacy.tropicos.org/Project/FM; Jonker 1948Jonker 1948:
Jonker FP. 1948. Burmanniaceae (Jonker). Flora Malesiana. Ser. I, Spermatophyta 4 (1): 13-26.; 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.; Maas et al. 1986Maas et al. 1986:
Maas PJM, Maas-van de Kamer H, Van Benthem J, Snelders HCM, and Rubsamen T. 1986. Burmanniaceae. Flora Neotropica 42: 1-189.; Stevenson and Loconte 1995Stevenson and Loconte 1995:
Stevenson DW and Loconte H. 1995. A cladistic analysis of monocot families. In: Rudall PJ, Cribb PJ, Cutler DF, and Humphries CJ, eds. Monocotyledons: Systematics and Evolution. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.; Takhtajan 2009Takhtajan 2009:
Takhtajan A. 2009. Flowering plants: Second edition. Springer Nature, Switzerland. 871 pp.; Watson and Dallwitz 1992+Watson and Dallwitz 1992+:
Watson L and Dallwitz MJ. 1992+. The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval. Version: 6th Accessed September 2020-September 2022. URL: delta-intkey.com; Wright 1913Wright 1913:
Wright CH. 1913. Burmanniaceae. In: Thiselton-Dyer WT, ed. Flora Capensis: Being a Systematic Description of the Plants of the Cape Colony, Caffraria and Port Natal, and Neighbouring Territories. Vol. 5, Part 3. L. Reeve, Kent UK. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.821

*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.