In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of taxa which meets these criteria:
- the grouping contains its own most recent common ancestor, i.e. excludes non-descendants of that common ancestor
- the grouping contains all the descendants of that common ancestor, without exception
The Crassulaceae, also known as the stonecrop family or the orpine family, are a diverse family of dicotyledon flowering plants characterized by succulent leaves and a unique form of photosynthesis, known as Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM). Flowers generally have five floral parts. Crassulaceae are usually herbaceous but there are some subshrubs, and relatively few treelike or aquatic plants. Crassulaceae are a medium size monophyletic family in the core eudicots, among the order Saxifragales, whose diversity has made infrafamilial classification very difficult. The family includes approximately 1,400 species and 34–35 genera, depending on the circumscription of the genus Sedum, and distributed over three subfamilies. Members of the Crassulaceae are found worldwide, but mostly in the Northern Hemisphere and southern Africa, typically in dry and/or cold areas where water may be scarce, although a few are aquatic.
Brodiaea, also known by the common name cluster-lilies, is a monocot genus of flowering plants.
Scilloideae is a subfamily of bulbous plants within the family Asparagaceae. Scilloideae is sometimes treated as a separate family Hyacinthaceae, named after the genus Hyacinthus. Scilloideae or Hyacinthaceae include many familiar garden plants such as Hyacinthus (hyacinths), Hyacinthoides (bluebells), Muscari and Scilla and Puschkinia. Some are important as cut flowers.
The common names soap plant, soaproot and amole refer to the genus Chlorogalum. They are native to western North America, with some species in Oregon but they are mostly found in California. Common names of the genus and several species derive from their use as soap.
Pickeringia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It was recently assigned to the unranked, monophyletic Cladrastis clade. It was named after the naturalist Charles Pickering. Its only species is Pickeringia montana, which is known by the common name chaparral pea. It is native to California, where its distribution extends along the Coast Ranges and the Sierra Nevada foothills, as well as the Peninsular Ranges of Southern California and northern Baja California. It is also known from Santa Cruz Island.
Dipterostemon is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae. Its only species is Dipterostemon capitatus, synonym Dichelostemma capitatum, known by the common names blue dicks, purplehead and brodiaea, native to the Western United States and northwest Mexico.
Adenostoma is a genus of shrubs in the Rose family (Rosaceae) containing only two species, chamise and redshanks. Both are native to the Californias.
Pectis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1759.
Hooveria purpurea is a species of flowering plant related to the agaves known by the common name purple amole. This species of soap plant is endemic to California, where it grows in the Santa Lucia Range, in the Central Coast region. There are two varieties of this plant, and both are believed to be quite rare. It is a federally listed threatened species.
Grayia is a genus of plants in the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae. Common names are siltbush and hopsage. The four shrubby species occur in arid and semiarid regions of western North America:
Grayia spinosa is a species of the genus Grayia in the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the flowering plant family Amaranthaceae, which is known by the common names hop sage and spiny hop sage. It is widely distributed across the Western United States, where it grows in a number of desert and mountain habitats.
Hastingsia is a small genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae, known generally as rushlilies. These are small perennial herbs endemic to serpentine soils of the Siskiyou-Klamath region in northern California and SW Oregon in the United States. They reach heights between 25 and 90 centimeters and have long linear leaves and racemes of small white flowers.
Krascheninnikovia is a genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae known as winterfat, so-called because it is a nutritious livestock forage. They are known from Eurasia and western North America. These are hairy perennials or small shrubs which may be monoecious or dioecious. They bear spike inflorescences of woolly flowers.
Hooveria parviflora is a species of perennial herb known by the common name smallflower soap plant. It is a monocot, native to coastal southern California and Baja California, where it is a member of the coastal sage scrub flora. It resembles a smaller version of Chlorogalum pomeridianum, with wavy leaves and white flowers that open during the day.
The Amaryllidaceae are a family of herbaceous, mainly perennial and bulbous flowering plants in the monocot order Asparagales. The family takes its name from the genus Amaryllis and is commonly known as the amaryllis family. The leaves are usually linear, and the flowers are usually bisexual and symmetrical, arranged in umbels on the stem. The petals and sepals are undifferentiated as tepals, which may be fused at the base into a floral tube. Some also display a corona. Allyl sulfide compounds produce the characteristic odour of the onion subfamily (Allioideae).
Willdenowia is a small genus of flowering plants in the family Restionaceae described as a genus in 1790. The entire genus is endemic to the fynbos of the Western Cape Province of South Africa.
Extriplex is a plant genus in the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae. It has been described in 2010 and comprises two species, that were formerly included in genus Atriplex. They are restricted to the California Floristic Province.
Stutzia is a plant genus in the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae. It was described in 2010, replacing the illegitimate name Endolepis. It comprises two species, that have also been included in the genus Atriplex.
Amaryllidoideae is a subfamily of monocot flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, order Asparagales. The most recent APG classification, APG III, takes a broad view of the Amaryllidaceae, which then has three subfamilies, one of which is Amaryllidoideae, and the others are Allioideae and Agapanthoideae. The subfamily consists of about seventy genera, with over eight hundred species, and a worldwide distribution.
