The Vitaceae, also called the grape family, is a family of flowering plants that has 20 genera[3] and around 910 known species[4] in its monotypic order Vitales, including common plants such as grapevines (Vitis spp.) and Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia).[5] The family name is derived from the genus Vitis.
Most of its members are distributed in tropical areas and many are dominant climbers with ecological significance.[6] Some species of genus Tetrastigma serve as hosts to parasitic plants in another family Rafflesiaceae.[7]
Members of Vitaceae show a high variety in their chromosome number. Most Vitis species have 38 chromosomes (n=19), but the species belong to one of Vitis' subgenera Muscadinia have 40 (n=20).[8] Other genera in the family such as Ampelocissus, Parthenocissus, and Ampelopsis could have 40 chromosomes (n=20) while genus Cissus may have 24 chromosomes (n=12).[5]
The family is economically important as the berries of Vitis species, commonly known as grapes, are an important fruit crop and, when fermented, produce wine.[3][5]
The extant species of Vitaceae are widespread and so is the fossil record.[6]
Phylogeny and taxonomy
The family name sometimes appears as Vitidaceae, but Vitaceae is a conserved name and therefore has priority over both Vitidaceae and another name sometimes found in the older literature, Ampelidaceae.[3]
Plants of the World Online currently accepts the following genera, and these genera can be placed in two subfamilies, Leeoideae and Vitoideae. The subfamilies are sometimes recognized as separate families.[3] The cladogram below shows the relationships of Vitaceae from its order to subfamilies and tribes.[1][6]
LeeaD.Royen: The genus was previously placed in its own monotypic family Leeaceae, and is now included in Vitaceae by APG IV (2016)[12] and the Angiosperm Phylogeny Website.
Leea guineensis
Vitoideae
Five tribes are now recognised in this subfamily:[6]
Vitaceae is distributed mostly in tropical regions while some of its genera can be found in temperate regions, such as genus Ampelopsis which is restricted to the north temperate area.[13] Genera Nekemias, Parthenocissus, Vitis and Yua also mainly or completely live in temperate areas.[3] The family spreads across pantropical areas in Asia, Africa, Australia, the neotropics and the Pacific Islands.[13] Their habitats include tropical and temperate forests, savannas and limestone mountains.[6]
The economic value of Vitaceae is often represented by viticulture, the practice of cultivating and harvesting the fruit of Vitis, grapes, and food and ingredients derived from grapes, such as wine, juice, other fresh products as well as raisins.
Grapevine (Vitis vinifera) is one of the oldest and most commonly cultivated fruit crops with its domestication begun around 6,000–8,000 years ago in Transcaucasian region[14], and it has more than 40,000 grapevine cultivar names.[15] The first American grape species being cultivated is Muscadine (Vitis rotundifolia) and can be dated back to mid-18th century.[8]
Fossil record
Vitaceae has a rich fossil record that spreads across Australia, Asia (China, India), Europe as well as North, South and Central America. The fossil evidence found includes wood, pollens, fruits and seeds.[6][16][17]
Fossil species Indovitis chitaleyae is believed to be the earliest example of Vitaceae. One study published in 2013 examined the fruits and seeds of I. chitaleyae unearthed from Late CretaceousDeccanIntertrappean beds of several sites in central India. The seeds investigated, including the ones from immature fruits bearing 4-6 seeds each and isolated mature seeds, are about 66 millions years old, and they feature diagnostic characteristics of order Vitales, such as having "paired ventral infolds and a dorsal chalaza".[16]
I. chitaleyae is grouped into the 5-petaled groups of Vitaceae by the study for its "confinement of the chalazal scar to an elliptical knot on the dorsal side". Several morphological evidences furthermore suggest a closer position to the extant Vitis, although the fossil seed lacks one commonly shared trait in most Vitis species and Ampelocissus of having a cylindrical, terminally truncate basal beak.[16]
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Leea guineensis
