Ancistrocladaceae
Encyclopedia
Ancistrocladaceae is the botanical name
for a family
of flowering plants. Such a family has been widely recognized by taxonomists.
The APG II system
, of 2003 (unchanged from the APG system
, of 1998), also recognizes this family and assigns it to the order Caryophyllales
in the clade core eudicots. The family consists of a single genus, Ancistrocladus
, of about a dozen species of lianas, found in the tropics of the Old World.
Recent molecular and biochemical evidence (see the AP-Website) suggests that the carnivorous taxa in the order Caryophyllales
(the families Droseraceae
and Nepenthaceae and the species Drosophyllum lusitanicum and Triphyophyllum peltatum) all belong to the same clade
. This family Ancistrocladaceae would belong to this same clade, although the plants in the family are non-carnivorous.
A close relationship between this family and the family Dioncophyllaceae
(containing the carnivorous species Triphyophyllum peltatum) is supported by similar pollen
and petiole
structure. The Cronquist system
, 1981, placed the family in the order Violales
(together with Dioncophyllaceae
). The Takhtajan system
placed the family in its own order Ancistrocladales.
Botanical name
A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar and/or Group epithets must conform to the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants...
for a family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
of flowering plants. Such a family has been widely recognized by taxonomists.
The APG II system
APG II system
The APG II system of plant classification is the second, now obsolete, version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy that was published in April 2003 by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. It was a revision of the first APG system, published in 1998, and was superseded in 2009...
, of 2003 (unchanged from the APG system
APG system
The APG system of plant classification is the first, now obsolete, version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy that was published in 1998 by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. It was superseded in 2003 by a revision, the APG II system, and then in 2009 by a further...
, of 1998), also recognizes this family and assigns it to the order Caryophyllales
Caryophyllales
Caryophyllales is an order of flowering plants that includes the cacti, carnations, amaranths, ice plants, and many carnivorous plants. Many members are succulent, having fleshy stems or leaves.-Description:...
in the clade core eudicots. The family consists of a single genus, Ancistrocladus
Ancistrocladus
Ancistrocladus is a little known genus of about 20 species in the monogeneric family Ancistrocladaceae.These are palaeotropical climbing twining plants, found in lowland to submontane, wet to seasonal evergreen or swamp forests, with eleven species occurring in tropical Africa and at least five...
, of about a dozen species of lianas, found in the tropics of the Old World.
Recent molecular and biochemical evidence (see the AP-Website) suggests that the carnivorous taxa in the order Caryophyllales
Caryophyllales
Caryophyllales is an order of flowering plants that includes the cacti, carnations, amaranths, ice plants, and many carnivorous plants. Many members are succulent, having fleshy stems or leaves.-Description:...
(the families Droseraceae
Droseraceae
Droseraceae is the botanical name for a family of flowering plants. The family is also known under its common name, the sundew family.It consists of carnivorous plants: besides the sundews, the genus Drosera, it also contains the even more-famous Venus fly trap Dionaea muscipula...
and Nepenthaceae and the species Drosophyllum lusitanicum and Triphyophyllum peltatum) all belong to the same clade
Clade
A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
. This family Ancistrocladaceae would belong to this same clade, although the plants in the family are non-carnivorous.
A close relationship between this family and the family Dioncophyllaceae
Dioncophyllaceae
Dioncophyllaceae is a family of flowering plants consisting of three species of lianas native to the rainforests of western Africa.Its closest relative is Ancistrocladaceae. Both of these families lie within a clade of mostly carnivorous plants which since 1998 or so have been moved to the order...
(containing the carnivorous species Triphyophyllum peltatum) is supported by similar pollen
Pollen
Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
and petiole
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
structure. The Cronquist system
Cronquist system
The Cronquist system is a taxonomic classification system of flowering plants. It was developed by Arthur Cronquist in his texts An Integrated System of Classification of Flowering Plants and The Evolution and Classification of Flowering Plants .Cronquist's system places flowering plants into two...
, 1981, placed the family in the order Violales
Violales
Violales is a botanical name of an order of flowering plants and takes its name from the included family Violaceae. The name has been used in several systems, although some systems used the name Parietales for similar groupings...
(together with Dioncophyllaceae
Dioncophyllaceae
Dioncophyllaceae is a family of flowering plants consisting of three species of lianas native to the rainforests of western Africa.Its closest relative is Ancistrocladaceae. Both of these families lie within a clade of mostly carnivorous plants which since 1998 or so have been moved to the order...
). The Takhtajan system
Takhtajan system
A system of plant taxonomy, the Takhtajan system of plant classification was published by Armen Takhtajan, in several versions from the 1950s onwards. It is usually compared to the Cronquist system. Key publications:-External links:* Takhtajan system at...
placed the family in its own order Ancistrocladales.
External links
- Ancistrocladaceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval. Version: 30 May 2006. http://delta-intkey.com
- NCBI Taxonomy Browser