Myrsinoideae

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Myrsinoideae
Ardisia.crenata1.jpg
Ardisia crenata
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Primulaceae
Subfamily: Myrsinoideae
Type genus
Myrsine L.
Synonyms

Ardiseaceae Juss.

Myrsinoideae is a subfamily of the family Primulaceae in the order Ericales. It was formerly recognized as the family Myrsinaceae, or the myrsine family, consisting of 35 genera and about 1000 species. It is widespread in temperate to tropical climates extending north to Europe, Siberia, Japan, Mexico, and Florida, and south to New Zealand, South America, and South Africa.

Plants are mostly mesophytic trees and shrubs; a few are lianas or subherbaceous. Their leathery, evergreen leaves are simple and alternate, with smooth margins and without stipules. They are often dotted with glands and resinous cavities. The latter may take the form of secretory lines.

The plants are mostly monoecious, but a few are dioecious. Their small flowers are arranged in racemose terminal clusters, or in the leaf axils. The flowers have four or five sepals and petals. The floral envelope (perianth) has a distinct calyx and corolla. The calyx is regular and polysepalous. The nonfleshy petals of the corolla are more or less united, closely overlapping. The four or five stamens are usually isomerous with the perianth. The carpel has one style and one stigma, with the ovary unilocular, superior or semi-inferior.

The one-seeded, indehiscent fruit is a thin-fleshed berry or drupe. [1] North American species are the marlberry (Ardisia escalloniodes) and the Florida rapanea (Myrsine cubana).

Plants in the subfamily have few economic uses. A few genera, such as Ardisia , Cyclamen , Lysimachia , and Myrsine , are grown as ornamental plants, especially Ardisia crispa and Myrsine africana. One species, Ardisia japonica (Chinese: 紫金牛; pinyin: zǐjīn niú), is one of the 50 fundamental herbs in traditional Chinese medicine.

In the APG III system and onwards, the Myrsinaceae were not recognized, but were sunk into Primulaceae, which in that system is circumscribed very broadly.

Genera

The following genera, traditionally categorized in Primulaceae sensu lato, should, according to Källersjö et al. (2000), belong to the Myrsinoideae (the clade of Myrsinaceae s. l.): Anagallis, Ardisiandra, Asterolinon, Coris, Cyclamen, Glaux, Lysimachia, Pelletiera and Trientalis.

Related Research Articles

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

The Ericales are a large and diverse order of dicotyledons. Species in this order have considerable commercial importance including for tea, persimmon, blueberry, kiwifruit, Brazil nuts, argan, and azalea. The order includes trees, bushes, lianas, and herbaceous plants. Together with ordinary autophytic plants, the Ericales include chlorophyll-deficient mycoheterotrophic plants and carnivorous plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Primulales</span>

Primulales was an order of flowering plants. This order was recognized in several systems with little variation in circumscription. In the classification system of Dahlgren the Primulales were in the superorder Primuliflorae. In the 1981 version of the Cronquist system it was an order placed in subclass Dilleniidae with the following circumscription:

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

The Actinidiaceae are a small family of flowering plants. The family has three genera and about 360 species and is a member of the order Ericales.

<i>Anagallis arvensis</i> Species of flowering plant in the primrose family

Anagallis arvensis, commonly known as the scarlet pimpernel, red pimpernel, red chickweed, poor man's barometer, poor man's weather-glass, shepherd's weather glass or shepherd's clock, is a species of low-growing annual plant with brightly coloured flowers, most often scarlet but also bright blue and sometimes pink. The native range of the species is Europe and Western Asia and North Africa. The species has been distributed widely by humans, either deliberately as an ornamental flower or accidentally. A. arvensis is now naturalised almost worldwide, with a range that encompasses the Americas, Central and East Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, Malesia, the Pacific Islands, Australasia and Southern Africa.

<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.

<i>Cyclamen</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae

Cyclamen is a genus of 23 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. In English, it is known by the common names sowbread or swinebread. Cyclamen species are native to Europe and the Mediterranean Basin east to the Caucasus and Iran, with one species in Somalia. They grow from tubers and are valued for their flowers with upswept petals and variably patterned leaves.

<i>Lysimachia</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae

Lysimachia is a genus consisting of 193 accepted species of flowering plants traditionally classified in the family Primulaceae. Based on a molecular phylogenetic study it was transferred to the family Myrsinaceae, before this family was later merged into the Primulaceae.

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

Anagallis is a genus of about 20–25 species of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae, commonly called pimpernel. The scarlet pimpernel referred to in literature is part of this genus. The botanical name is from the Greek ana and agállein, and it refers to the opening and closing of the flowers in response to environmental conditions.

<i>Lysimachia monelli</i> Species of flowering plant

Lysimachia monelli, the blue pimpernel or garden pimpernel is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae, native to the Mediterranean region. It is not to be confused with Lysimachia foemina, which has very similar blue flowers, but broader leaves and can be found also in colder climates. In a comparison of DNA sequences, L. monelli was shown to be most closely related to L. foemina. The latter had been thought by many to be closest to L. arvensis, and some authors had even included L. foemina as a subspecies of L. arvensis. The three species were among several transferred from Anagallis to Lysimachia in a 2009 paper.

<i>Samolus</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae

Samolus is a widely distributed genus of about a dozen species of water-loving herbs. According to the APG III classification, this genus belongs to the family Primulaceae in the order Ericales. It was considered as closely related to a clade comprising the Theophrastaceae, and was treated as part of that family or in its own monogeneric family, the Samolaceae. The APG III system does not recognize these families and instead includes all genera formerly belonging to Theophrastaceae in the family Primulaceae.

<i>Lysimachia maritima</i> Species of flowering plant in the primrose family Primulaceae

Lysimachia maritima is a plant species belonging to the family Primulaceae. It was previously called Glaux maritima, the only species in the monotypic genus Glaux. The species has a number of common names, including sea milkwort, sea milkweed, and black saltwort.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theophrastoideae</span> Subfamily of flowering plant family Primulaceae

Theophrastoideae is a small subfamily of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. It was formerly recognized as a separate family Theophrastaceae. As previously circumscribed, the family consisted of eight genera and 95 species of trees or shrubs, native to tropical regions of the Americas.

<i>Ardisia</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae

Ardisia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. It was in the former Myrsinaceae family now recognised as the myrsine sub-family Myrsinoideae. They are distributed in the Americas, Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands, mainly in the tropics. There are over 700 accepted species. One species, Ardisia japonica is one of the 50 fundamental herbs in traditional Chinese medicine.

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

Pentaphylax euryoides is a species of flowering plant in the Pentaphylacaceae family. It is the sole species in genus Pentaphylax. It is a shrub or small tree native to southern China, Vietnam, Laos, Peninsular Malaysia, and northern Sumatra. In China, it is found in Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, and Yunnan provinces, and in southern parts of Fujian, Hunan, and Jiangxi.

<i>Maesa</i> Genus of flowering plants in Primrose family (Primulaceae)

Maesa is a genus of flowering plants. It is placed in the family Primulaceae, subfamily Maesoideae, for which it is the sole genus (monotypic). Previously it was placed in Myrsinaceae, or in a family of its own, Maesaceae. There are 184 accepted species native to tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia, and the Pacific, the majority of which occur in Malesia, New Guinea, western Asia, and the Pacific Islands.

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

Myrsine is a genus of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. It was formerly placed in the family Myrsinaceae before this was merged into the Primulaceae. It is found nearly worldwide, primarily in tropical and subtropical areas. It contains over 280 species, including several notable radiations, such as the matipo of New Zealand and the kōlea of Hawaiʻi. In the United States, members of this genus are known as colicwood. Some species, especially M. africana, are grown as ornamental shrubs.

<i>Lysimachia latifolia</i> Species of flowering plant in the primrose family Primulaceae

Lysimachia latifolia, sometimes called Trientalis latifolia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae. It is known as starflower, chickweed-wintergreen, or Pacific starflower.

<i>Anagallis tenella</i> Species of flowering plant

Anagallis tenella, known in Britain as the bog pimpernel, is a low growing perennial plant found in a variety of damp habitats from calcareous dune slacks to boggy and peaty heaths in Eurasia. In the United Kingdom it is mostly restricted to the western half of the country, although it was more common in the east before land drainage and intensification of farming in that area.

<i>Lysimachia foemina</i> Species of flowering plant

Lysimachia foemina is commonly known as blue pimpernel or poor man's weatherglass, and was formerly called Anagallis foemina. It is a low-growing annual herbaceous plant in the genus Lysimachia of the family Primulaceae. In a comparison of DNA sequences, L. foemina was shown to be most closely related to L. monelli. It had been thought by many to be closest to L. arvensis, and some authors had even included L. foemina as a subspecies of L. arvensis, as Anagallis arvensis subsp foemina. These three species were among several transferred from Anagallis to Lysimachia in a 2009 paper.

<i>Lysimachia clethroides</i> Species of flowering plant

Lysimachia clethroides, the gooseneck loosestrife, is a species of flowering plant, traditionally classified in the family Primulaceae. It was transferred to the family Myrsinaceae based on a molecular phylogenetic study, but this family was later merged into the Primulaceae.

References

  1. Watson, L.; Dallwitz, M. J. "Myrsinaceae R. Br". The families of flowering plants. Retrieved 3 March 2016.