Aurantioideae

Aurantioideae
Tabog (Swinglea glutinosa, Citreae)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Rutaceae
Subfamily:	Aurantioideae
Tribes
Citreae Clauseneae
Synonyms
Citroideae

Aurantioideae (sometimes known as Citroideae) is the subfamily within the rue and citrus family (Rutaceae) that contains the citrus. The subfamily's center of diversity is in the monsoon region of eastern Australasia, extending west through South Asia into Africa, and eastwards into Polynesia.^[1]

Notable members include citrus (genus Citrus), bael (Aegle marmelos), curd fruit (Limonia acidissima), species of genus Murraya such as curry tree (M. koenigii) and orange jessamine (M. paniculata), and the small genus Clausena.

Description and systematics

Micromelum minutum (Clauseneae)

Aurantioideae are smallish trees or large shrubs, or rarely lianas. Their flowers are typically white and fragrant. Their fruit are very characteristic hesperidia, usually of rounded shape and colored in green, yellowish or orange hues.^[1]

The subfamily can be divided into two tribes, the ancestral Clauseneae and the more advanced Citreae. Several genera have been recently reassigned from the latter to the former, but the arrangement of subtribes leaves much to be desired. The tribes, with subtribes listed in phylogenetic sequence and genera listed alphabetically, are:^[1][2]

Tribe Citreae Subtribe Triphasiinae Genus Luvunga Buch.-Ham. ex Wight & Arn. Genus Merope M.Roem. Genus Monanthocitrus Genus Oxanthera Genus Pamburus Swingle Genus Paramignya Wight Genus Triphasia Genus Wenzelia Merr. Subtribe Balsamocitrinae (paraphyletic with Citrinae? Formerly in Clauseneae) Genus Aegle Corrêa – Bael Genus Aeglopsis Swingle Genus Afraegle (Swingle) Engl. Genus Balsamocitrus Stapf Genus Feroniella Swingle Genus Limonia L. – Curd Fruit Genus Swinglea Merr. Subtribe Citrinae (paraphyletic with Balsamocitrinae?) Genus Atalantia Correa (formerly in Clauseneae) Genus Burkillanthus Genus Citropsis – cherry oranges Genus Citrus – citrus fruits (including Eremocitrus and Microcitrus) Genus Clymenia Swingle Genus Fortunella – kumquats (probably belongs in Citrus) Genus Limnocitrus Genus Naringi Adans. Genus Hesperethusa Genus Poncirus – Trifoliate Orange (probably belongs in Citrus) Genus Pleiospermium Genus Severinia Ten. (formerly in Clauseneae)

Tribe Clauseneae Subtribe Micromelinae Genus Micromelum Blume Subtribe Clauseninae Genus Clausena Burm.f. Genus Glycosmis Genus Murraya Subtribe Merrilliinae (might belong in Clauseninae) Genus Merrillia

Footnotes

1. Swingle, W. T. and Reece, P.C. (1967), The botany of Citrus and its wild relatives, University California Press, Los Angeles, CA.
2. de Araújo et al. (2003)

References

• de Araújo, E. Freitas; de Queiroz, L. Paganucci & Machado, M.A. (2003): What is Citrus? Taxonomic implications from a study of cp-DNA evolution in the tribe Citreae (Rutaceae subfamily Aurantioideae). Organisms Diversity & Evolution 3(1): 55-62. doi:10.1078/1439-6092-00058 (HTML abstract)