Front Range Seed Analysts
1991 Seed Forum Volume 5 Number 3
SEEDS OF THE FRONT RANGE:
CARYOPHYLLACEAE - THE CARNATION FAMILY
Written by Jim Bruce
The Caryophyllaceae, although a large family in size, 70 genera and approximately 1750 species, is not known for its economic importance. To the general public this family represents a number of ornamental and border plants in the garden. To the seed analyst this family also contains many weedy species and identification problems. The carnation, sweet william, garden pink, and maltese cross are the most popular and fragrant of the ornamentals. Many of the lower growing and mat-forming species, such as snow-in-summer, are becoming popular as border plants and in rock gardens.
The carnation family also has been used through history as mild medicinals. This use of the family is limited and has lost favor to more active and potent families. Many species contain the active compound saponin. This substance is a detergent and plants such as Saponaria officinalis, or soapwort, (also called bouncing bet) have been utilized by the soap industry. This chemical makes species containing it useful as "blood cleansers" and for treatment of skin afflictions. The Dianthus genus has long been used for astringents and at one time some plants were popularly used for the treatment of epilepsy. Chickweed has been used as a powerful laxative and also as an edible plant, being eaten fresh or as a potherb.
The majority of the species derived from this family are weeds of agricultural seed. Many of these weedy species are poisonous to livestock. Species like corn cockle have long adulterated the flour made from the various cereals. Breads made from contaminated flour have caused severe stomach cramping and vomiting. Extreme poisoning impairs locomotion and may result in coma.
The vegetative characteristics of this family are fairly stable and make the placing of species within it rather easy. Most species are herbaceous with opposite leaves and dichotomous branching. The leaves are lanceolateshaped, entire, and simple. Where they attach to the nodes, the leaves connect together at their bases by a thin line and the nodes are conspicuously swollen.
The inflorescence is also dicotomous. These inflorescences are terminal cymes and generally form from the axils of the leaves. The f lowers are bisexual and actinomorphic. The calyx consists of five sepals which may be free or fused together and connate. When f ree, the sepals tend to overlap one another. The corolla contains five clef ted petals, or in rare cases, no petals. The androecium has five or ten stamens, in one or two whorls. When ten stamens are present, a 5 + 5 configuration exists. The ovary is superior, with 2-5 united carpels, and is unilocular (at least in the upper portion). Placentation is basal, or more commonly free-central with numerous ovules. The f ruit is a dry capsule, opening by apical teeth or valves. In this family, we can get a utricle as a fruit, or rarely a dry, one-seeded nutlet.
With the most common f ruit being a capsule, we find that with the Caryophyllaceae, we are dealing with true seeds. The carnation family belongs to a larger order of docotyledons referred to as the Centrospermae. As with the Chenopodiaceae (May 1991 Seed Forum) the centrospermae all have seeds where the embryo curves around the central food source. This configuration gives rise to seed shapes within this family ranging from kidney-shaped, globose, or ovoid, to shield-shaped. The testa of most seeds in this family could be described as sculptured. This texturing most commonly consists of concentric rows of tubercules, or raised protuberances. Some seeds may be smooth and shiny, or be rough and bear a slight wing. The seedcoat color varies from reddish-brown to grayish black. Immature seeds may not bear the true coloration of the species. The hilum may be conspicuous and of use in identification. This hilum is found laterally on kidney-shaped seeds, or at the narrow end of elongated seeds. Often the hilum is situated in a notch surrounded by a collar, ridge, or pads.
Cutting open a seed of this family, one can grasp why the Caryophyllaceae is in the order, Centrospermae. The embryo is found peripherally and encircling a central food source derived from the nucellus tissue of the ovule and known as the perisperm. The embryo itself is well developed with two cotyledons appressed to each other and comprising one half the overall axis length. The perisperm is abundant and floury; white and soft to almost translucent. The endosperm is reduced to a thin layer encircling the radicle.
To the seed analyst, seeds of this family are easily recognized as belonging to it, but identification of genera and species are often difficult and pose a challenge. Luckily for us, there has been much written on the identification of the caryophyllaceae family and its members. Excellent drawings and descriptions may easily be obtained.
Editor's notes:
References:
USDA Handbook 30 Testing Agricultural and vegetable
Seeds
USDA Handbook 219 Identification ofCrop and Weed
Seeds
AOSA Contribution to the Handbook on Seed Testing
The
Seeds of Silene and Lychnis by W. H. Wright, 1948
All of the above may be borrowed f rom the SCST library.
Contact SCST Librarian, Louise Taylor at Asgrow Seed Co., P. 0. Box
1235, Twin Falls, ID, 83303. Also, most FRSA area
laboratories have these publications in their libraries.
Noxious Seeds of the Caryophyllaceae
Agrostemma githago corn cockle,
noxious in AL, AR, DE, FL, GA, HI, IN, KY, LA, ME,
MD, MA, MS, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI,
and WY
Lychnis alba (syn. Silene alba) white cockle
noxious in CT, WI