Rhamnaceae Temporal range: | |
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Rhamnus pumila Turra | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Rosales |
Family: | Rhamnaceae Juss. |
Type genus | |
Rhamnus | |
Genera | |
See text | |
The range of Rhamnaceae. | |
Synonyms | |
Frangulaceae DC. 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.
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.
Modern molecular phylogenetics recommend the following clade-based classification of Rhamnaceae: [10]
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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]
Meliaceae, the mahogany family, is a flowering plant family of mostly trees and shrubs in the order Sapindales.
The Vitaceae are a family of flowering plants, with 14 genera and around 910 known species, including common plants such as grapevines and Virginia creeper. The family name is derived from the genus Vitis.
Droseraceae is a family of carnivorous flowering plants, also known as the sundew family. It consists of approximately 180 species in three extant genera. Representatives of the Droseraceae are found on all continents except Antarctica.
Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All species are woody, contain essential oils, and have flower parts in multiples of four or five. The leaves are evergreen, alternate to mostly opposite, simple, and usually entire. The flowers have a base number of five petals, though in several genera, the petals are minute or absent. The stamens are usually very conspicuous, brightly coloured, and numerous.
The Urticaceae are a family, the nettle family, of flowering plants. The family name comes from the genus Urtica. The Urticaceae include a number of well-known and useful plants, including nettles in the genus Urtica, ramie, māmaki, and ajlai.
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.
Trema is a genus of about 15 species of evergreen trees closely related to the hackberries (Celtis), occurring in subtropical and tropical regions of southern Asia, northern Australasia, Africa, South and Central America, and parts of North America. They are generally small trees, reaching 10–20 m (33–66 ft) tall.
Alphitonia is a genus of arborescent flowering plants comprising about 20 species, constituting part of the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae). They occur in tropical regions of Southeast Asia, Oceania and Polynesia. These are large trees or shrubs. In Australia, they are often called "ash trees" or "sarsaparilla trees". This is rather misleading however; among the flowering plants, Alphitonia is not closely related to the true ash trees, and barely at all to the monocot sarsaparilla vines (Smilax).
Gentianaceae is a family of flowering plants of 103 genera and about 1600 species.
Pyrophytes are plants which have adapted to tolerate fire.
Colubrina is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia, northern Australia, and the Indian Ocean islands.
Phylica is a genus of plants in the family Rhamnaceae. It contains about 150 species, the majority of which are restricted to South Africa, where they form part of the fynbos. A few species occur in other parts of southern Africa, and on islands including Madagascar, the Mascarene Islands, Île Amsterdam, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha, and Gough Island. Phylica piloburmensis from the Burmese amber of Myanmar, dating to around 99 million years ago during the mid-Cretaceous, was originally described as the oldest fossil member of the genus, but subsequent studies contested its assignment to the genus Phylica and even to the family Rhamnaceae, with one study placing it in the separate genus Nothophylica.
Ceanothus prostratus is a species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae. Common names include prostrate ceanothus, pinemat, and mahala mat. It is native to the Pacific Northwest of the United States where it grows in coniferous forests and open plateaus.
Ceanothus tomentosus, with the common name woollyleaf ceanothus, is a species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae. It is characterized by pale-blue to deep blue flowers and wooly leaves. It is native to California and Baja California, having an unusual disjunct distribution in the Peninsular Ranges and the north-central Sierra Nevada.
Diplacus bigelovii is a species of monkeyflower known by the common name Bigelow's monkeyflower. It is native to the southwestern United States, where it grows in desert and slope habitats. It was formerly known as Mimulus bigelovii.
Diplacus brevipes is a species of monkeyflower known by the common name widethroat yellow monkeyflower. It was formerly known as Mimulus brevipes.
Erythranthe dentata is a species of monkeyflower known by the common names coastal monkeyflower and toothleaf monkeyflower. It is native to the western coast of North America from British Columbia to northern California, where it grows in moist habitat. It was formerly known as Mimulus dentatus.
Diplacus whitneyi is a species of monkeyflower known by the common name Harlequin monkeyflower. It was formerly known as Mimulus lewisii. It is also known as Diplacus bicolor.
Cycadeoidea is an extinct genus of bennettitalean plants known from the Cretaceous of North America, Europe and Asia. They grew as cycad-like plants with a short trunk topped with a crown of leaves.
The vataireoids are an early-branching monophyletic clade of the flowering plant subfamily Faboideae that are mostly found in northern South America, primarily Brazil.