Zygophyllaceae | |
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Larrea tridentata | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Zygophyllales |
Family: | Zygophyllaceae R.Br. |
Subfamilies | |
Larreoideae Contents | |
Synonyms | |
Zygophyllaceae is a family of flowering plants that contains the bean-caper and caltrop. The family includes around 285 species in 22 genera. [2]
Plants in the family Zygophyllaceae may be trees, shrubs, or herbs. They are often found in dry habitats. The leaves are usually opposite, often with stipules and spines. Some are cultivated as ornamental plants, such as species of the Guaiacum , Zygophyllum , Tribulus , and Larrea genera. [3] King Clone, a creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) in California, is among the world's oldest living organisms.
The distribution of plants in the Zygophyllaceae family can be found worldwide in warm tropics and cool-temperate subtropics with a concentration in hot, arid regions with alkaline soils. [4] Regions with different species from this family include Africa, south Asia, India, Australia and parts of the United States. [5]
Peganum was in Zygophyllaceae before being moved to the newly created family Nitrariaceae.
In the APG III system of classification, the families Zygophyllaceae and Krameriaceae compose the order Zygophyllales. In the previous version of their classification system, the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group had included the option of placing Krameria within Zygophyllaceae.
Zygophyllaceae are divided into five subfamilies. Molecular phylogenies of the family were published in 2000 [15] and 2018. [16] Phylogenies of groups within the family, particularly the predominantly southern African species of Zygophylloideae have also been published. [17] [18] [19]
Modern molecular phylogenetics suggest the following relationships: [10] [15]
Zygophyllales |
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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.
The Aizoaceae, or fig-marigold family, is a large family of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing 135 genera and about 1,800 species. Several genera are commonly known as 'ice plants' or 'carpet weeds'. The Aizoaceae are also referred to as vygies in South Africa. Some of the unusual Southern African genera—such as Conophytum, Lithops, Titanopsis and Pleiospilos —resemble gemstones, rocks or pebbles, and are sometimes referred to as 'living stones' or 'mesembs'.
The plant tribe Phaseoleae is one of the subdivisions of the legume subfamily Faboideae, in the unranked NPAAA clade. This group includes many of the beans cultivated for human and animal food, most importantly from the genera Glycine, Phaseolus, and Vigna.
Bulnesia arborea is a species of flowering plant in the creosote subfamily (Larreoideae) of family Zygophyllaceae. It is native to Colombia and Venezuela. Related to the true lignum vitae trees (Guaiacum), it is known as Maracaibo lignum vitae or as "verawood".
Fagonia is a genus of wild, flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae, having about 34 species. The latest reorganization of the genus took place in 2018 when systematists Christenhusz & Byng, Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew (UK) included Fagonia spp.. along with several other Zygophyllum genera, into a new genus named "Zygophyllum L." Species occurring in the US are commonly referred to as fagonbushes. The distribution of the genus includes parts of Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Mid-East, India, and parts of North & South America. Fagonia species have been used ethnobotanically by traditional practitioners under Ayurvedic and other TM healing regimes for many maladies. Species occur in deserts, dry washes, ditches and on rocky outcrops, including at altitude.
The Capparaceae, commonly known as the caper family, are a family of plants in the order Brassicales. As currently circumscribed, the family contains 15 genera and about 430 species. The largest genera are Capparis, Morisonia, Maerua, Boscia, and Cadaba.
Opuntioideae is a subfamily of the cactus family, Cactaceae. It contains 15 genera divided into five tribes. The subfamily encompasses roughly 220–250 species, and is geographically distributed throughout the New World from Canada, to Argentina. Members of this subfamily have diverse habits, including small geophytes, hemispherical cushions, shrubs, trees, and columnar cacti consisting of indeterminate branches or determinate terete or spherical segments.
Zygophyllum is the type genus of the flowering plant family Zygophyllaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek words ζυγόν (zygon), meaning "double", and φυλλον (phyllon), meaning "leaf". It refers to the leaves, each of which have two leaflets.
Ehretioideae is a subfamily of the flowering plant family Boraginaceae.
Boraginoideae is a subfamily of the plant family Boraginaceae s.s, with about 42 genera. That family is defined in a much broader sense in the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) system of classification for flowering plants. The APG has not specified any subfamilial structure within Boraginaceae s.l.
Chrysophylloideae is a subfamily of flowering plants in the chicle family, Sapotaceae.
Hippocastanoideae is a subfamily of flowering plants in the soapberry family Sapindaceae. The group was formerly treated as the separate families Aceraceae and Hippocastanaceae. Molecular phylogenetic research by Harrington et al. (2005) has shown that while both the Aceraceae and Hippocastanaceae are monophyletic in themselves, their removal from the Sapindaceae sensu lato would leave Sapindaceae sensu stricto as a paraphyletic group, particularly with reference to the genus Xanthoceras.
Larreoideae is a subfamily of the flowering plant family Zygophyllaceae.
Tribuloideae is a subfamily of the flowering plant family Zygophyllaceae.
Hedysareae is a tribe of plants in the subfamily Faboideae. Hedysareae species have loments, a type of modified legume that breaks apart at constrictions occurring between the segments of the seeds.
Anacardioideae is a subfamily of plants in the family Anacardiaceae.
Zygophyllum fontanesii, synonym Tetraena fontanesii, is a species of plant of the family Zygophyllaceae. It is found in Macaronesia and northwest Africa.
Tetraena is a possible genus of flowering plants in the family Zygophyllaceae, subfamily Zygophylloideae. As of January 2025, Plants of the World Online and the World Flora Online accepted it as a synonym of Zygophyllum.
Zygophylloideae is a subfamily of the family Zygophyllaceae. The subfamily comprises about 180 species of shrubs, subshrubs and herbs, found throughout arid parts of the Palaeotropics and into North and South America. As of February 2025, the division of the subfamily into genera is disputed, with between four and seven genera accepted by different sources.