The Ericaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acid and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with c. 4250 known species spread across 124 genera, making it the 14th most species-rich family of flowering plants. The many well-known and economically important members of the Ericaceae include the cranberry, blueberry, huckleberry, rhododendron, and various common heaths and heathers.
The Malpighiales comprise one of the largest orders of flowering plants, containing about 36 families and more than 16,000 species, about 7.8% of the eudicots. The order is very diverse, containing plants as different as the willow, violet, poinsettia, manchineel, rafflesia and coca plant, and are hard to recognize except with molecular phylogenetic evidence. It is not part of any of the classification systems based only on plant morphology. Molecular clock calculations estimate the origin of stem group Malpighiales at around 100 million years ago (Mya) and the origin of crown group Malpighiales at about 90 Mya.
Diapensiaceae (Link) Lindley is a small family of flowering plants, classified as a crown group, which includes 15 species in 6 genera. The genera include Berneuxia Decne., Diapensia L., Galax Sims, Pyxidanthera Michx., Shortia Torr. & A.Gray, and Schizocodon Siebold & Zucc.. Members of this family have little economic importance, however, some members are cultivated by florists.
Carolus is a genus in the Malpighiaceae, a family of about 75 genera of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. Carolus comprises six species of woody vines native to Mexico, Central America, the Lesser Antilles, and South America.
Adelphia is a genus in the Malpighiaceae, a family of about 75 genera of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. Adelphia comprises four species of woody vines native to the West Indies, Mesoamerica, and western South America.
Alicia is a genus in the Malpighiaceae, a family of about 75 genera of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. Alicia comprises 2 species of woody vines widespread in South America.
Acmanthera is a genus in the Malpighiaceae, a family of about 75 genera of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. Acmanthera comprises 7 species of trees, shrubs, or subshrubs native to Brazil.
Rhynchophora is a genus in the Malpighiaceae, a family of about 75 genera of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. Rhynchophora comprises 2 species of slender woody vines native to Madagascar. The distinctive 3–4-winged fruit resembles a helicopter and is unique in the family.
Malpighiodes is a genus in the Malpighiaceae, a family of about 75 genera of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. Malpighiodes comprises 4 species of woody vines native to northern South America.
Galphimia is a genus in the Malpighiaceae, a family of about 75 genera of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales; the name is an anagram of Malpighia.Galphimia comprises 26 species of large herbs, shrubs, and treelets. Twenty-two species occur in Mexico, one extending into Texas and one ranging to Nicaragua; four species occur in South America, south of the Amazon Basin. Galphimia gracilis is widely cultivated in warm regions throughout the world. Eight species are distinctive in that the petals become stiff and papery, and persist past the stage of fruit maturation.
Stigmaphyllon is a genus in the Malpighiaceae, a family of about 75 genera of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. Amazonvine is a common name for species in this genus.
Ectopopterys is a genus in the Malpighiaceae, a family of about 75 genera of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. Ectopopterys contains only one species of woody vines native to lowland wet forests of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
Psychopterys is a genus in the Malpighiaceae, a family of about 75 genera of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. Psychopterys comprises 8 species of woody vines, occasionally described as shrubs or small trees, which occur in matorral, tropical deciduous forest, and wet forest in southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. This genus is very distinctive because of its nearly radial white corollas and eglandular sepals, which are highly unusual characteristics in the Malpighiaceae of the New World.
Callaeum is a genus in the Malpighiaceae, a family of about 75 genera of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. Callaeum comprises 11 species of woody vines and shrubs occurring from western Texas to Mexico, Central America, and South America. Two species, C. macropterum and C. septentrionale are cultivated as ornamentals in Arizona and California.
Christianella is a genus in the Malpighiaceae, a family of about 75 genera of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. Christianella comprises 5 species of woody vines and shrubby habit occurring in forests, roadside thickets, and shrubby savannas in southeastern Mexico, Central America, and South America.
Bronwenia is a genus in the Malpighiaceae, a family of about 75 genera of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. Bronwenia comprises 10 species of shrubs and woody vines native to Mexico, Central America, and South America.
Calcicola is a genus in the Malpighiaceae, a family of about 75 genera of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. Calcicola comprises 2 species of shrubs or treelets native to Mexico.
Cottsia is a genus in the Malpighiaceae, a family of about 75 genera of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. Cottsia comprises 3 species of slender twining vines native to northern Mexico and extending into Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The species of Cottsia were formerly included in Janusia, a genus of South America.
Dicella is a genus in the Malpighiaceae, a family of about 75 genera of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. Dicella includes seven species, assigned to two sections. Section Dicella comprises D. bracteosa and D. nucifera, found in southeastern Brazil and adjacent Paraguay and Argentina. Section Macropterys includes D. aciculifera, known only from Costa Rica, and D. conwayi, D. julianii, D. macroptera, and D. oliveirae, all of South America from Colombia south to about 19°S
Aenigmatanthera is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Malpighiaceae.
