Rhamnaceae

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Rhamnaceae
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous–Recent
Rhamnus pumila Atlas Alpenflora.jpg
Rhamnus pumila Turra
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rhamnaceae
Juss.
Type genus
Rhamnus
L.
Genera

See text

Rhamnaceae Distribution.svg
The range of Rhamnaceae.
Synonyms

Frangulaceae DC.
Phylicaceae J.Agardh
Ziziphaceae Adans. ex Post & Kuntze [1]

Contents

The Rhamnaceae are a large family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs, and some vines, commonly called the buckthorn family. [2] Rhamnaceae is included in the order Rosales. [3]

The family contains about 55 genera and 950 species. [4] The Rhamnaceae have a worldwide distribution, but are more common in the subtropical and tropical regions. The earliest fossil evidence of Rhamnaceae is from the Late Cretaceous. Fossil flowers have been collected from the Upper Cretaceous of Mexico and the Paleocene of Argentina. [5]

Leaves of family Rhamnaceae members are simple, i.e., the leaf blades are not divided into smaller leaflets. [2] Leaves can be either alternate or opposite. Stipules are present. These leaves are modified into spines in many genera, in some (e.g. Paliurus spina-christi and Colletia paradoxa ) spectacularly so. Colletia stands out by having two axillary buds instead of one, one developing into a thorn, the other one into a shoot.

Flowers of Ceanothus cuneatus Ceanothus cuneatus1.jpg
Flowers of Ceanothus cuneatus
Bisexual flower of Helinus, with five sepals and petals, and a yellow, annular nectary disk. The small, clawed petals embrace the stamens. Helinus integrifolius, blom, Skeerpoort, b.jpg
Bisexual flower of Helinus , with five sepals and petals, and a yellow, annular nectary disk. The small, clawed petals embrace the stamens.
Flowers of Ziziphus mucronata Ziziphus mucronata, blomme, Roodeplaat NR, c.jpg
Flowers of Ziziphus mucronata
Flowers of Rhamnus saxatilis Rhamnus saxatilis (Felsen-Kreuzdorn) IMG 7432.JPG
Flowers of Rhamnus saxatilis

The flowers are radially symmetrical. There are 5 (sometimes 4) separate sepals and 5 (sometimes 4 or none) separate petals. The petals may be white, yellowish, greenish, pink or blue, and are small and inconspicuous in most genera, though in some (e.g. Ceanothus) the dense clusters of flowers are conspicuous. The 5 or 4 stamens are opposite the petals. [2] The ovary is mostly superior, with 2 or 3 ovules (or one by abortion).

The fruits are mostly berries, fleshy drupes, or nuts. Some are adapted to wind carriage, but most are dispersed by mammals and birds. Chinese jujube is the fruit of the jujube tree (Ziziphus jujuba) and is a major fruit in China.

The American genus Ceanothus , which has several showy ornamental species, has nitrogen-fixing root nodules. [6]

Economic uses of the Rhamnaceae are chiefly as ornamental plants and as the source of many brilliant green and yellow dyes. The wood of Rhamnus was also the most favoured species to make charcoal for use in gunpowder before the development of modern propellants.

Genera

Systematics

Modern molecular phylogenetics recommend the following clade-based classification of Rhamnaceae: [10]

  Elaeagnaceae  (outgroup)

Rhamnaceae
Ampeloziziphoids

Ventilago

Bathiorhamnus

Ampelozizyphus

Doerpfeldia

Rhamnoids

Maesopsis

Scutia

Rhamnus

Frangula

Sageretia

Berchemia

Rhamnidium

Rhamnella

Reynosia

Krugiodendron

Karwinskia

Condalia

Ziziphoids

Schistocarpeia

Hovenia

Ziziphus

Paliurus

Gouania

Helinus

Pleuranthodes

Crumenaria

Reissekia

Lasiodiscus

Colubrina

Emmenosperma

Phyliceae

Noltea

Trichocephalus

Nesiota

Phylica

Granitites

Alphitonia

Colletieae

Adolphia

Trevoa

Discaria

Kentrothamnus

Colletia

Retanilla

Ceanothus

Pomaderreae

Siegfriedia

Cryptandra

Stenanthemum

Trymalium

Pomaderris

Spyridium

Fossil record

The fossil record of the family extends back to the Late Cretaceous, with records from Colombia [11] and Mexico. [12] Remains from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber of Myanmar have been suggested to belong to this family by some authors [13] [14] , but this has been doubted by others. [15] The earliest fossils of modern genera of the family date to the Eocene. [16]

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

Ceanothus is a genus of about 50–60 species of nitrogen-fixing shrubs and small trees in the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae). Common names for members of this genus are buckbrush, California lilac, soap bush, or just ceanothus. "Ceanothus" comes from Ancient Greek: κεάνωθος (keanōthos), which was applied by Theophrastus to an Old World plant believed to be Cirsium arvense.

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

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

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<i>Ceanothus tomentosus</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Erythranthe dentata</i> Species of flowering plant

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References

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