Chloranthaceae

Chloranthaceae
Sarcandra glabra
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
Order: Chloranthales
R.Br. [1]
Family: Chloranthaceae
R.Br. ex Sims [1]
Genera

Chloranthaceae /ˌklɔərænˈθeɪʃiː/ is a family of flowering plants. The family consists of four extant genera, totalling about 75 species,[2] of herbaceous or woody plants occurring in Southeast Asia, the Pacific, Madagascar, Central & South America, and the West Indies. The extinct genus Chloranthistemon also belongs to this family.[3] Members of this family are aromatic and have opposite, evergreen leaves with distinctive serrate margins and interpetiolar stipules (similar to the stipules found in family Rubiaceae). The flowers are inconspicuous, and arranged in inflorescences. Petals are absent in this family, and sometimes so are sepals. The flowers can be either hermaphrodite or of separate sexes. The fruit is drupe-like, consisting of one carpel.

Chloranthaceae have been recognised as a family in most classifications but without clear relatives. Molecular systematic studies have shown that it is not closely related to any other family and is among the early-diverging lineages in the angiosperms. In particular, it is neither a eudicot nor a monocot. Fossils assigned to Chloranthaceae, or closely related, are among the oldest angiosperms known. The APG II system (2003) leaves the family unplaced as to order but Stevens (2001 onwards) accepts the order Chloranthales, containing only this family.

Some species are used in traditional medicine.

Angiosperms

Amborella

Nymphaeales

Austrobaileyales



magnoliids

Chloranthales

monocots

Ceratophyllum

eudicots









The phylogeny of the flowering plants, as of APG III (2009).

The Cronquist system (1981) assigned the family

to the order Piperales
in subclass Magnoliidae
in class Magnoliopsida [=dicotyledons]
of division Magnoliophyta [=angiosperms].

The Thorne system (1992) placed it

in the order Magnoliales, which was assigned
to superorder Magnolianae
in subclass Magnoliideae [=dicotyledons],
in class Magnoliopsida [=angiosperms].

The Dahlgren system raised the family to be

its own order Chloranthales, which was assigned
to superorder Magnolianae
in subclass Magnoliideae [=dicotyledons],
in class Magnoliopsida [=angiosperms].

References

  1. 1 2 Angiosperm Phylogeny Group III (2009). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 161 (2): 105–121. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x.
  2. ↑ Stevens, P.F. "Angiosperm Phylogeny Website: Chloranthales". Retrieved 2014-10-24.
  3. ↑ Herendeen, P. S., W. L. Crepet, and K. C. Nixon. 1993. Chloranthus-like stamens from the Upper Cretaceous of New Jersey. American Journal of Botany 80 (8): 865-871.

External links

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