SUMMARYBalanites aegyptiaca(L) Del. has a trizonate ovule primordium and an elongated bitegmic, crassinucellate and anatropous ovule. The dermal inner and outer integument are about 4–5‐layered and the inner layer of the inner integument becomes slightly endothelial. After fertilization the nucellus and subsequently the inner integument are resorbed. The outer integument ultimately becomes about 30‐layered. The cells of the inner layer of the outer integument divide once periclinally. The vascularized seed‐coat consists of parenchyma cells with scattered, lignified sclerenchyma elements. Ovule and seed characters support the recognition of a separate family Balanitaceae and a relationship with an enlarged order