Polygalaceae | |
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Securidaca longipedunculata | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Fabales |
Family: | Polygalaceae Hoffmanns. & Link [1] |
Type genus | |
Polygala | |
Tribes | |
Distribution of the Polygalaceae | |
Synonyms | |
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The Polygalaceae or the milkwort family are made up of flowering plants in the order Fabales. They have a near-cosmopolitan range, with about 27 genera and ca. 900 known species [2] of herbs, shrubs and trees. Over half of the species are in one genus, Polygala , the milkworts.
The family was first described in 1809 by Johann Hoffmansegg and Johann Link. [3] In 1896, Robert Chodat split it into 3 tribes. A fourth tribe was split off from the tribe Polygaleae in 1992. [4] Under the Cronquist classification system, Polygalaceae were treated in a separate order of their own, Polygalales. Currently, according to the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, the family belongs in Fabales.
Polygalaceae are annual or perennial herbs, shrubs, trees or lianas. [5] Its zygomorphic, hermaphrodite, bisexual flowers have 3-5 petals and 5 sepals. [6] [7] Its leaves are usually alternate, but may be opposite, fascicled, or verticillate. [6] Each flower usually contains 8 stamens, though this may range from 3 to 10. They are usually in 2 series. [7] The fruits of each plant can be a capsule, samara, or drupe. [6]
The Polygalaceae comprise the following genera, [6] with tribes based on various sources. [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]
Modern molecular phylogenetics suggest the following relationships: [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]
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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.
The Lamiaceae or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle, or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory, marjoram, oregano, hyssop, thyme, lavender, and perilla, as well as other medicinal herbs such as catnip, salvia, bee balm, wild dagga, and oriental motherwort. Some species are shrubs, trees, or, rarely, vines. Many members of the family are widely cultivated, not only for their aromatic qualities, but also their ease of cultivation, since they are readily propagated by stem cuttings. Besides those grown for their edible leaves, some are grown for decorative foliage. Others are grown for seed, such as Salvia hispanica (chia), or for their edible tubers, such as Plectranthus edulis, Plectranthus esculentus, Plectranthus rotundifolius, and Stachys affinis. Many are also grown ornamentally, notably coleus, Plectranthus, and many Salvia species and hybrids.
The Faboideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. An acceptable alternative name for the subfamily is Papilionoideae, or Papilionaceae when this group of plants is treated as a family.
Burmanniaceae is a family of flowering plants, consisting of 99 species of herbaceous plants in eight genera.
Phyllanthaceae is a family of flowering plants in the eudicot order Malpighiales. It is most closely related to the family Picrodendraceae.
Polygala is a large genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Polygalaceae. They are commonly known as milkworts or snakeroots. The genus is distributed widely throughout much of the world in temperate zones and the tropics. The genus name Polygala comes from the ancient Greek "much milk", as the plant was thought to increase milk yields in cattle.
Polygala vulgaris, known as the common milkwort, is a herbaceous perennial plant of the genus Polygala in the family Polygalaceae.
Haloragaceae is a eudicot flowering plant family in the order Saxifragales, based on the phylogenetic APG system. In the Cronquist system, it was included in the order Haloragales.
Comesperma is a genus of shrubs, herbs and lianas in the family Polygalaceae. The genus is endemic to Australia. It was defined by the French botanist Jacques Labillardière in his 1806 work Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek words come ("hair") and sperma ("seed"), and relates to the seeds bearing tufts of hair. The genus is distributed over southern Australia, particularly in the southwest of Western Australia, where 19 species are found. 24 species have been described.
Limeum is a genus of flowering plants. It includes 25 species.
Hebecarpa rectipilis, synonym Polygala rectipilis, common name New Mexico milkwort, is a plant native to one county in New Mexico and to northeast Mexico. The type specimen was collected near the Town of Hillsboro in Sierra County, at an elevation of 1065 m.
Hebecarpa macradenia, synonym Polygala macradenia, the glandleaf milkwort, is a subshrub in the milkwort family (Polygalaceae) found in the Arizona Uplands of the Sonoran Desert. Its "odd" flowers are said to be "spectacularly beautiful" when viewed with a hand lens.
Asemeia apopetala is a species of flowering plant in the milkwort family commonly known as Brandegee milkwort or rama mora. It is a shrub or a small tree characterized by showy pink to magenta flowers that bloom from September to November or any time of year with ample rainfall. It was first described in 1889 and is endemic to Baja California Sur, Mexico. It is the type for the subgenus Apopetala of Asemeia.
Polygala linariifolia is a species of flowering plant in the milkwort family (Polygalaceae). It extends worldwide, including in the Australian states of New South Wales, Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia, however due to obscure taxonomic classifications and similarities and cross-overs between other Polygala species, it is difficult to confirm the exact identity of P. linariifolia and its distribution across the world including Australia.
Polygala rehmannii is a species of flowering plant in the milkwort family (Polygalaceae). It is endemic to areas with an altitude below 1,160 metres (3,810 ft) in Southern Africa. It was first described by Robert Chodat in 1893.
Hebecarpa is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Polygalaceae. Species are found from the southern United States through Mexico and Central America to western South America.
Asemeia is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Polygalaceae. It includes 36 species native to the tropical and subtropical Americas, ranging from the southeastern United States through Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and tropical South America to northern Argentina.
Carpolobia is a genus of plants in the milkwort family (Polygalaceae) that are native to tropical Africa and Madagascar. It was first written about in 1831 by George Don, at which point 4 species were identified. In 1849, the number of accepted species went down to 2. The other 2 became part of the legume family. The two species that remained, C. alba and C. lutea, were described as closely resembling each other. It was initially in the Polygaleae tribe before being split off in 1992 along with the genus Atroxima to form the new tribe of Carpolobieae.
Atroxima is a plant genus in the milkwort family (Polygalaceae). It is endemic to Western Tropical Africa. It was first described in 1905 by Otto Stapf in the Journal of the Linnean Society. It was initially in the Polygalaeae tribe before being split off with Carpolobia in 1992 to form the Carpolobieae tribe. They are lianas or liana-like shrubs which produce shiny, orange, fleshy uni- to tri-locular berries, these can have an area of up to 5 by 5 by 4 centimetres.
Gymnospora is a genus of plants in the milkwort family (Polygalaceae) which is endemic to Brazil. It was first described as a subgenus of Polygala by Robert Chodat in 1891. It was separated into its own genera in 2013. Their flowers are 6 to 10 millimetres long and its pedicels are 2 to 8 millimetres long.