Araliaceae

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Araliaceae
Temporal range: Eocene–present
Aralia elata en fleur4081.jpg
Aralia elata
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Apiales
Family: Araliaceae
Juss. [1]
Subfamilies and genera
  • See text
Synonyms

The Araliaceae are a family of flowering plants composed of about 43 genera and around 1500 species consisting of primarily woody plants and some herbaceous plants commonly called the ginseng family. [2] [3] [4] The morphology of Araliaceae varies widely, but it is predominantly distinguishable based on its woody habit, tropical distribution, and the presence of simple umbels. [5]

Contents

There are numerous plants of economic importance. Some genera, such as Hedera (the ivies), Fatsia (Japanese aralias) and Heptapleurum (formerly Schefflera, the umbrella trees), are used as ornamental foliage plants. The family also includes Panax ginseng , the root of which is ginseng, used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Overview

The morphology of Araliaceae varies widely. Many studies have found that there is no unifying characteristic capable of classifying the family. [6] In general, Araliaceae species have large, usually alternate leaves, often with aromatic ethereal oils, five-petaled flowers, two to five carpels, simple umbels, and berries without carpophores or oil cavities. [7] Some taxa carry prickles, and the family is often woody but also occasionally herbaceous. While Araliaceae is predominantly a tropical family, some taxa are also endemic to temperate climates. They are found in the Americas, Eurasia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, and Pacific islands.[ citation needed ]

Some examples of Araliaceae include the angelica tree (Aralia spinosa), the devil's club (Oplopanax horridus), ivy ( Hedera spp., including H. helix ), and herbs such as ginseng ( Panax spp.). Leaves are sometimes lauroid (resembling Laurus ) and are simple to compound; when compound, they are ternate, pinnate, or palmate.[ citation needed ]

Araliaceae are found in the pluvial montane forest, very humid montane forest, and humid lowland river forest regions. They are also present in laurel forest, cloud forest, and warm, humid habitats.[ citation needed ]

Taxonomy and Systematics

Araliaceae is one of six angiosperm families recognized by APG IV belonging to the Apiales, an order within the Asterids. [8] Araliaceae is accepted to be a monophyletic branch within the Apiales. [9]

Within Araliaceae, there are four accepted groups: [10]

1. The Greater Raukaua group, sister to the rest of the main Araliaceae clades.

2. The Aralia-Panax group, consisting of the mostly monophyletic genera Aralia and Panax.

3. The Polyscias-Pseudopanax group, sister to both genus Cussonia and the Asian Palmate group.

4. The Asian Palmate group, largest of the groups representing Araliaceae.

There are also multiple taxa that float around these groups, but are not within them.

The generic level classification of the Araliaceae has been unstable and remains under study. For instance, numerous genera have been synonymized under Schefflera , within which about half the species within Araliaceae are placed. Recent molecular phylogenies have shown that this large pantropical genus is polyphyletic [11] and some believe it should be divided again into several genera, though these would probably not correspond with the previously recognized genera.

Recent molecular systematics techniques have made major improvements into understanding of the evolution of Araliaceae, leading to the knowledge existing today. Due to widely varying morphological characters, the systematics of Araliaceae had been largely debated over the past century, especially in the absence of molecular evidence. For instance, Araliaceae were previously merged into the closely related Apiaceae (synonym: Umbelliferae) in some taxonomic treatments that have since been rejected. [12] [13] The family is closely related to the Apiaceae and Pittosporaceae, but some of the exact boundaries between Araliaceae and the other families of Apiales are still uncertain and are currently being examined.

One example group that proved problematic for Araliaceae systematics is subfamily Hydrocotyloideae. Molecular phylogenies suggest at least some of the genera traditionally spanning across Araliaceae and Apiaceae as Hydrocotyloideae [14] [15] appear to be more closely related to Araliaceae. It has been recommended that subfamily Hydrocotyloideae be narrowed to just include genera Hydrocotyle, Trachymene, and Harmsiopanax to form a monophyletic group in Araliaceae. [16]

Subfamilies and genera

Subfamily Aralioideae
Subfamily Hydrocotyloideae
Subfamily incertae sedis

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apiales</span> Order of eudicot flowering plants in the asterid group

The Apiales are an order of flowering plants. The families are those recognized in the APG III system. This is typical of the newer classifications, though there is some slight variation and in particular, the Torriceliaceae may also be divided.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apiaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus Apium and commonly known as the celery, carrot or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering plants, with more than 3,800 species in about 446 genera, including such well-known and economically important plants as ajwain, angelica, anise, asafoetida, caraway, carrot, celery, chervil, coriander, cumin, dill, fennel, lovage, cow parsley, parsley, parsnip and sea holly, as well as silphium, a plant whose identity is unclear and which may be extinct.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fabales</span> Order of flowering plants in the dicots

Fabales is an order of flowering plants included in the rosid group of the eudicots in the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group II classification system. In the APG II circumscription, this order includes the families Fabaceae or legumes, Quillajaceae, Polygalaceae or milkworts, and Surianaceae. Under the Cronquist system and some other plant classification systems, the order Fabales contains only the family Fabaceae. In the classification system of Dahlgren the Fabales were in the superorder Fabiflorae with three families corresponding to the subfamilies of Fabaceae in APG II. The other families treated in the Fabales by the APG II classification were placed in separate orders by Cronquist, the Polygalaceae within its own order, the Polygalales, and the Quillajaceae and Surianaceae within the Rosales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saxifragales</span> Order of Eudicot flowering plants in the Superrosid clade

The Saxifragales (saxifrages) are an order of flowering plants (Angiosperms). They are an extremely diverse group of plants which include trees, shrubs, perennial herbs, succulent and aquatic plants. The degree of diversity in terms of vegetative and floral features makes it difficult to define common features that unify the order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornales</span> Order of flowering plants

The Cornales are an order of flowering plants, early diverging among the asterids, containing about 600 species. Plants within the Cornales usually have four-parted flowers, drupaceous fruits, and inferior to half-inferior gynoecia topped with disc-shaped nectaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamamelidaceae</span> Witch-hazel, a shrub or small tree

Hamamelidaceae, commonly referred to as the witch-hazel family, is a family of flowering plants in the order Saxifragales. The clade consists of shrubs and small trees positioned within the woody clade of the core Saxifragales. An earlier system, the Cronquist system, recognized Hamamelidaceae in the Hamamelidales order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Primulaceae</span> Family of flowering plants that includes the primroses

The Primulaceae, commonly known as the primrose family, are a family of herbaceous and woody flowering plants including some favourite garden plants and wildflowers. Most are perennial though some species, such as scarlet pimpernel, are annuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saxifragaceae</span> Family of flowering plants in the Eudicot order Saxifragales

Saxifragaceae is a family of herbaceous perennial flowering plants, within the core eudicot order Saxifragales. The taxonomy of the family has been greatly revised and the scope much reduced in the era of molecular phylogenetic analysis. The family is divided into ten clades, with about 640 known species in about 35 accepted genera. About half of these consist of a single species, but about 400 of the species are in the type genus Saxifraga. The family is predominantly distributed in the northern hemisphere, but also in the Andes in South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eudicots</span> Clade of flowering plants

The eudicots, Eudicotidae, or eudicotyledons are a clade of flowering plants mainly characterized by having two seed leaves upon germination. The term derives from Dicotyledons.

<i>Schefflera</i> Genus of plants

Schefflera is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araliaceae with 13 species native to New Zealand and some Pacific islands.

<i>Apiopetalum</i> Genus of flowering plants

Apiopetalum is a genus of plant in the family Apiaceae, comprising 2 species. They are small trees, reaching 6 m in height, and have simple leaves. The genus is endemic to New Caledonia. Its closest relative is the Australian Actinotus.

<i>Raukaua</i> Genus of flowering plants

Raukaua is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araliaceae. It has an austral distribution, being indigenous to southern Argentina and Chile, as well as New Zealand and the island of Tasmania.

Tetraplasandra is a no longer recognised genus of plants in the ivy family, Araliaceae. They are small to medium trees, of mesic to wet forests.

Woodburnia penduliflora is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae and the only representative of the genus Woodburnia. It is endemic to Burma and was first described from the Kachin State in 1903. The genus was named after the former president of the Asiatic Society of Bengal and lieutenant governor of Bengal, John Woodburn. It was described by botanist David Prain as having striking flowers unusually large for the Araliaceae family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aralioideae</span> Subfamily of flowering plants

Aralioideae is a subfamily of flowering plants contains around 50 recognized genera. These include the genus Panax, to which ginseng belongs. Other notable species are the Angelica-tree, the devil's club, or common ivy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Icacinaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

The Icacinaceae, also called the white pear family, are a family of flowering plants, consisting of trees, shrubs, and lianas, primarily of the tropics.

<i>Heptapleurum taiwanianum</i> Species of flowering plant

Heptapleurum taiwanianum is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae, native to Taiwan, where it is scattered throughout coniferous forests at 2,000–3,000 m (6,600–9,800 ft). Growing to 4 m (13 ft) tall by 2.5 m (8.2 ft) broad, it is an evergreen shrub or small tree. Large leaves up to 15 cm (5.9 in) long are composed of up to 11 ovate leaflets arranged radially around a central stalk. Young leaves are covered in silver hairs, while mature leaves have a smooth surface. Sprays of flowers in late summer are followed by dark berries in winter - a valued food source for insects and birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mackinlayoideae</span> Subfamily of flowering plants

Mackinlayoideae is a subfamily of plants containing about nine genera. In the APG II system it was treated at family rank as Mackinlayaceae, but since then it has been reclassified as a subfamily of Apiaceae.

Jun Wen is an evolutionary biologist and curator at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in the Department of Botany and has worked in the Laboratory of Molecular Systematics. She researches the monography, phylogenetics, biogeography, and ethnobotany of the plant families Araliaceae and Vitaceae. She has published over 190 scientific papers.

References

  1. ↑ Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2009), "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III", Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 161 (2): 105–121, doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x
  2. ↑ Xiang, Q.; Lowry, P. P. (2007). "Araliaceae". In Wu, Z. Y.; Raven, P. H.; Hong, D. Y. (eds.). Flora of China (PDF). Vol. 13. St. Louis, MO: Missouri Botanical Garden Press. p. 491. ISBN   9781930723597.
  3. ↑ Kim, Kyunghee; Nguyen, Van Binh; Dong, Jingzhou; Wang, Ying; Park, Jee Young; Lee, Sang-Choon; Yang, Tae-Jin (December 2017). "Evolution of the Araliaceae family inferred from complete chloroplast genomes and 45S nrDNAs of 10 Panax-related species". Scientific Reports. 7 (1): 4917. Bibcode:2017NatSR...7.4917K. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-05218-y. ISSN   2045-2322. PMC   5501832 . PMID   28687778.
  4. ↑ "Araliaceae". succulent-plant.com. Retrieved 2018-02-07.
  5. ↑ Elpel, Thomas J., author. (2013). Botany in a day : the patterns method of plant identification : an herbal field guide to plant families of North America. HOPS Press, LLC. ISBN   978-1-892784-35-3. OCLC   1037950883.{{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ↑ Plunkett, Gregory M.; Soltis, Douglas E.; Soltis, Pamela S. (1996). "Higher level relationships of Apiales (Apiaceae and Araliaceae) based on phylogenetic analysis of rbc L sequences". American Journal of Botany. 83 (4): 499–515. doi:10.1002/j.1537-2197.1996.tb12731.x.
  7. ↑ Plant systematics : a phylogenetic approach. Judd, Walter S., Campbell, Christopher S., Kellogg, Elizabeth Anne. (Third ediiton ed.). Sunderland, MA. 2008. ISBN   978-0-87893-407-2. OCLC   126229888.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. ↑ The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2016). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG IV". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 181 (1): 1–20. doi: 10.1111/boj.12385 .
  9. ↑ Kim, Kyunghee; Nguyen, Van Binh; Dong, Jingzhou; Wang, Ying; Park, Jee Young; Lee, Sang-Choon; Yang, Tae-Jin (December 2017). "Evolution of the Araliaceae family inferred from complete chloroplast genomes and 45S nrDNAs of 10 Panax-related species". Scientific Reports. 7 (1): 4917. Bibcode:2017NatSR...7.4917K. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-05218-y. ISSN   2045-2322. PMC   5501832 . PMID   28687778.
  10. ↑ Li, Rong; Wen, Jun (2016). "Phylogeny and diversification of Chinese Araliaceae based on nuclear and plastid DNA sequence data: Phylogeny and diversification of Chinese Araliaceae". Journal of Systematics and Evolution. 54 (4): 453–467. doi: 10.1111/jse.12196 .
  11. ↑ Wen, J., G. M. Plunkett, A. D. Mitchell, and S.J. Wagstaff. 2001. The Evolution of Araliaceae: A Phylogenetic Analysis Based on ITS Sequences of Nuclear Ribosomal DNA. Systematic Botany 26: 144–167 (abstract).
  12. ↑ "Araliaceae". succulent-plant.com. Retrieved 2018-02-07.
  13. ↑ Judd, Walter S. (1994). Angiosperm family pairs : preliminary phylogenetic analyses. Harvard Papers in Botany. OCLC   30923673.
  14. ↑ Plunkett, G.M., Soltis, D.E. & Soltis, P.S. 1997. Clarification of the relationship between Apiaceae and Araliaceae based on MATK and RBCL sequence data. American Journal of Botany 84: 565-580 (available online Archived 2008-07-06 at the Wayback Machine ; pdf file).
  15. ↑ Chandler, G. T.; Plunkett, G. M. (2004). "Evolution in Apiales: Nuclear and chloroplast markers together in (almost) perfect harmony". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 144 (2): 123–147. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.2003.00247.x .
  16. ↑ Nicolas, Antoine N.; Plunkett, Gregory M. (2009). "The demise of subfamily Hydrocotyloideae (Apiaceae) and the re-alignment of its genera across the entire order Apiales". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 53 (1): 134–151. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2009.06.010. PMID   19549570.
  17. ↑ Manchester, S.R. (1994). "Fruits and Seeds of the Middle Eocene Nut Beds Flora, Clarno Formation, Oregon". Palaeontographica Americana. 58: 30–31.
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