Nyctaginaceae | |
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Garden Four O'Clock ( Mirabilis jalapa ) flowers | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Nyctaginaceae Juss. [1] |
Tribes | |
Synonyms | |
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Nyctaginaceae, the four o'clock family, is a family of around 33 genera and 290 species of flowering plants, widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions, with a few representatives in temperate regions. The family has a unique fruit type, called an "anthocarp", and many genera have extremely large (>100 µm) pollen grains.
The family has been almost universally recognized by plant taxonomists. The APG II system (2003; unchanged from the APG system of 1998), assigns it to the order Caryophyllales in the clade core eudicots.
A phylogenetic study by Levin has justified the combination of Selinocarpus and Ammocodon into the genus Acleisanthes . The genus Izabalea is now considered a synonym of Agonandra , a genus in Opiliaceae. A more recent study by Douglas and Manos clarified the relationships among almost all of the genera in the family and demonstrated that a substantial diversification of herbaceous genera has occurred in arid North America. Many genera of Nyctaginaceae possess unusual characters. Notable examples include sticky bands on the stems between the nodes, cleistogamous flowers (which self-pollinate without opening), or gypsophily, the ability to grow on soils with a high concentration of gypsum.
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The extinct genus Mennegoxylon has been provisionally placed in the family. [10]
Note; as of February 2022, Plants of the World Online classes Boldoa as a synonym of Salpianthus and Grajalesia as a synonym of Pisonia. [11] [12]
The family contains one food crop, the mauka (Mirabilis extensa), a root vegetable of minor local importance in the Andes. Garden Four-O'Clocks Mirabilis jalapa species are grown as ornamental plants, as are species of Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea glabra, B. spectabilis, and numerous hybrids), Bougainvillea and Abronia are commonly cultivated in warmer regions.
Convolvulaceae, known commonly as the bindweed or morning glory family, is a family of about 60 genera and more than 1,650 species of mostly herbaceous vines, but also trees, shrubs and herbs, and also including the sweet potato and a few other food tubers.
The Scrophulariaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the figwort family. The plants are annual and perennial herbs, as well as shrubs. Flowers have bilateral (zygomorphic) or rarely radial (actinomorphic) symmetry. The Scrophulariaceae have a cosmopolitan distribution, with the majority found in temperate areas, including tropical mountains. The family name is based on the name of the included genus Scrophularia L.
The Aristolochiaceae are a family, the birthwort family, of flowering plants with seven genera and about 400 known species belonging to the order Piperales. The type genus is Aristolochia L.
The Juglandaceae are a plant family known as the walnut family. They are trees, or sometimes shrubs, in the order Fagales. Members of this family are native to the Americas, Eurasia, and Southeast Asia.
Zygophyllaceae is a family of flowering plants that contains the bean-caper and caltrop. The family includes around 285 species in 22 genera.
Plantaginaceae, the plantain family, is a family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales. In older classifications it used to be the only family of the order Plantaginales, but numerous phylogenetic studies, summarized by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, have demonstrated that this taxon should be included within Lamiales.
The Passifloraceae are a family of flowering plants, containing about 750 species classified in around 27 genera.
The Combretaceae, often called the white mangrove family, are a family of flowering plants in the order Myrtales. The family includes about 530 species of trees, shrubs, and lianas in ca 10 genera. The family includes the leadwood tree, Combretum imberbe. Three genera, Conocarpus, Laguncularia, and Lumnitzera, grow in mangrove habitats (mangals). The Combretaceae are widespread in the subtropics and tropics. Some members of this family produce useful construction timber, such as idigbo from Terminalia ivorensis. The commonly cultivated Quisqualis indica is now placed in the genus Combretum.
The Onagraceae are a family of flowering plants known as the willowherb family or evening primrose family. They include about 650 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees in 17 genera. The family is widespread, occurring on every continent from boreal to tropical regions.
The Loganiaceae are a family of flowering plants classified in order Gentianales. The family includes up to 13 genera, distributed around the world's tropics. There are not any great morphological characteristics to distinguish these taxa from others in the order Gentianales.
The Achatocarpaceae are a family of woody flowering plants consisting of two genera and 11 known species, and has been recognized by most taxonomists. The family is found from the southwestern United States south to tropical and subtropical South America.
Phytolaccaceae is a family of flowering plants. Though almost universally recognized by taxonomists, its circumscription has varied. It is also known as the Pokeweed family.
Goodeniaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Asterales. It contains about 404 species in twelve genera. The family is distributed mostly in Australia, except for the genus Scaevola, which is pantropical. Its species are found across most of Australia, being especially common in arid and semi-arid climates.
Apocynoideae is a subfamily of the flowering plant family Apocynaceae. It contains about 78 genera with roughly 860 species. Several genera are of pharmacological interest - notably those - such as Strophanthus - which have furnished highly effective arrow poisons, due to their cardiac glycoside content. The subfamily includes many species with flowers of considerable ornamental value, the best-known of which is Nerium oleander, the familiar Oleander. It also contains the remarkable pachycaul genera Adenium and Pachypodium.
Helicteroideae is a subfamily of the family Malvaceae. Some taxonomists place genera in Helicteroideae in distinct families Durionaceae and Helicteraceae, while others recognizes the tribes Durioneae and Helictereae.
The Sapotoideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Sapotaceae. Plants in the subfamily are characterized by their leather-like leaves, often growing in a stipule fashion.
The Anacampserotaceae are a family of plants proposed in the February 2010 issue of the journal Taxon. The family was described by Urs Eggli and Reto Nyffeler in their analysis of the polyphyly in the suborder Portulacineae. The new family and its circumscription was based on molecular and morphological data. The three recognized genera - Anacampseros, Grahamia, and Talinopsis - were formerly placed in the Portulacaceae and comprise a total of 36 known species. This family was accepted in the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group's 2009 publication of the APG III system.
Stilbaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales.
Montiaceae are a family of flowering plants, comprising about 14 genera with about 230 known species, ranging from herbaceous plants to shrubs. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution.
Physaleae is a tribe of flowering plants in the subfamily Solanoideae of the family Solanaceae.
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