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.
The Cornaceae are a cosmopolitan family of flowering plants in the order Cornales. The family contains approximately 85 species in two genera, Alangium and Cornus. They are mostly trees and shrubs, which may be deciduous or evergreen, although a few species are perennial herbs. Members of the family usually have opposite or alternate simple leaves, four- or five-parted flowers clustered in inflorescences or pseudanthia, and drupaceous fruits. The family is primarily distributed in northern temperate regions and tropical Asia. In northern temperate areas, Cornaceae are well known from the dogwoods Cornus.
Nyssaceae is a family of flowering trees sometimes included in the dogwood family (Cornaceae). Nyssaceae is composed of 37 known species in the following five genera:
Diospyros is a genus of over 700 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs. The majority are native to the tropics, with only a few species extending into temperate regions. Individual species valued for their hard, heavy, dark timber, are commonly known as ebony trees, while others are valued for their fruit and known as persimmon trees. Some are useful as ornamentals and many are of local ecological importance. Species of this genus are generally dioecious, with separate male and female plants.
Litsea is a genus of evergreen or deciduous trees or shrubs belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The genus includes a large number of accepted species in tropical and subtropical areas of North America and Asia.
Mesua is a genus of flowering plants in the family Calophyllaceae, native to tropical southern Asia. Common names include ironwood and rose chestnut.
Endiandra is a genus of about 126 species of plants, mainly trees, in the laurel family Lauraceae. They are commonly called "walnut" despite not being related to the Northern Hemisphere walnuts which are in the family Juglandaceae.
Phoebe is a genus of evergreen trees and shrubs belonging to the Laurel family, Lauraceae. There are 75 accepted species in the genus, distributed in tropical and subtropical Asia and New Guinea. 35 species occur in China, of which 27 are endemic. The first description of the genus was of the type species P. lanceolata made in 1836 by Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck in Systema Laurinarum, p. 98.
Alangium is a small genus of flowering plants. The genus is included either in a broad view of the dogwood family Cornaceae, or as the sole member of its own family Alangiaceae. Alangium has about 40 species, but some of the species boundaries are not entirely clear. The type species for Alangium is Alangium decapetalum, which is now treated as a subspecies of Alangium salviifolium. All of the species are shrubs or small trees, except the liana Alangium kwangsiense. A. chinense, A. platanifolium, and A. salviifolium are known in cultivation.
Leea is a genus of plants that are distributed throughout Northern and eastern Australia, New Guinea, South and Southeast Asia and parts of Africa. The APG IV system places Leea in the subfamily Leeoideae (Vitaceae). Leea is now placed in the family Vitaceae having previously been placed in its own family, Leeaceae, based on morphological differences between it and other Vitaceae genera. These differences include ovule number per locule, carpel number, and the absence or presence of a staminoidal tube and floral disc. Pollen structure has also been examined for taxonomic demarcation, though studies have concluded that the pollen of Leeaceae and Vitaceae suggests the families should remain separate while other studies conclude that Leea should be included in Vitaceae.
Archidendron is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae.
Hopea is a genus of plants in the family Dipterocarpaceae. The genus was named after John Hope, 1725–1786, the first Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. It contains some 113 species, distributed from Sri Lanka and southern India to southern China, and southward throughout Malesia to New Guinea. They are mainly main and subcanopy trees of lowland rainforest, but some species can become also emergent trees, such as Hopea nutans.
Semecarpus is a genus of plants in the family Anacardiaceae.
Diplopanax is a genus of flowering trees placed in the family Cornaceae or Nyssaceae. Its two known extant species inhabit the wet tropical mountains of Vietnam and southern China. They are broad-leaved evergreen trees with woody fruits and white or yellow flowers.
Hydrostachys is a genus of about 22 species of flowering plants native to Madagascar and southern and central Africa. It is the only genus in the family Hydrostachyaceae. All species of Hydrostachys are aquatic, growing on rocks in fast-moving water. They have tuberous roots, usually pinnately compound leaves, and highly reduced flowers on dense spikes.
Colona is a genus of flowering plant in the Malvaceae sensu lato or Tiliaceae: now placed in the subfamily Grewioideae. It is found in south-east Asia.
Mastixia pentandra subsp. scortechinii is a subspecies of Mastixia pentandra. It is a tree in the family Nyssaceae. It is named for the botanist Benedetto Scortechini.
