Chloranthaceae
Encyclopedia
Chloranthaceae is the botanical name
of a family of flowering plants. The family consists of four genera, totalling several dozen species, of herbaceous or woody plants occurring in Southeast Asia, the Pacific, Madagascar, Central & South America, and the West Indies. Members of this family are aromatic and have opposite, evergreen leaves with distinctive serrate margins and interpetiolar stipule
s (similar to the stipules found in family Rubiaceae
). The flower
s are inconspicuous, and arranged in inflorescence
s. Petal
s are absent in this family, and sometimes so are sepal
s. 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.
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The Cronquist system
(1981) assigned the family
----
The Thorne system (1992)
placed it
----
The Dahlgren system
raised the family to be
----
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...
of a family of flowering plants. The family consists of four genera, totalling several dozen species, of herbaceous or woody plants occurring in Southeast Asia, the Pacific, Madagascar, Central & South America, and the West Indies. Members of this family are aromatic and have opposite, evergreen leaves with distinctive serrate margins and interpetiolar stipule
Stipule
In botany, stipule is a term coined by Linnaeus which refers to outgrowths borne on either side of the base of a leafstalk...
s (similar to the stipules found in family Rubiaceae
Rubiaceae
The Rubiaceae is a family of flowering plants, variously called the coffee family, madder family, or bedstraw family. The group contains many commonly known plants, including the economically important coffee , quinine , and gambier , and the horticulturally valuable madder , west indian jasmine ,...
). The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are inconspicuous, and arranged in inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
s. Petal
Petal
Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They often are brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. Together, all of the petals of a flower are called a corolla. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying...
s are absent in this family, and sometimes so are sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s. The flowers can be either hermaphrodite or of separate sexes. The fruit is drupe
Drupe
In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...
-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
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...
(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.
| {clade| style=font-size:75%;line-height:75% | label1=Angiospermae | 1= }} |
| The phylogeny Phylogenetics In biology, phylogenetics is the study of evolutionary relatedness among groups of organisms , which is discovered through molecular sequencing data and morphological data matrices... of the flowering plants, as of APG III (2009). |
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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) assigned the family
- to the order PiperalesPiperalesPiperales is a botanical name for an order of flowering plants. It necessarily includes the family Piperaceae but otherwise has been treated variously over time...
- in subclass MagnoliidaeMagnoliidaeMagnoliids are a group of about 9,000 species of flowering plants, including magnolias, nutmeg, bay laurel, cinnamon, avocado, black pepper, and many others. They are characterized by trimerous flowers, pollen with one pore, and usually branching-veined leaves.-Classification:Traditionally,...
- in class MagnoliopsidaMagnoliopsidaMagnoliopsida is a valid botanical name for a class of flowering plants. By definition the class will include the family Magnoliaceae, but its circumscription can otherwise vary, being more inclusive or less inclusive depending upon the classification system being discussed.-Cronquist and...
[=dicotyledons]- of division Magnoliophyta [=angiosperms].
- in class Magnoliopsida
- in subclass Magnoliidae
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The Thorne system (1992)
Thorne system (1992)
A modern system of plant taxonomy, the Thorne system of plant classification was drawn up by the botanist Robert F. Thorne . He replaced it in 2000 with a new system. These two systems were published in:...
placed it
- in the order MagnolialesMagnolialesMagnoliales is an order of flowering plants.-Classification:The Magnoliales includes six families:* Annonaceae...
, which was assigned- to superorder Magnolianae
- in subclass Magnoliideae [=dicotyledons],
- in class Magnoliopsida [=angiosperms].
- in subclass Magnoliideae [=dicotyledons],
- to superorder Magnolianae
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The Dahlgren system
Dahlgren system
One of the modern systems of plant taxonomy, the Dahlgren system was published by monocot specialist Rolf Dahlgren. His wife Gertrud Dahlgren carried on after his death.According to the extensive listing by Professor Reveal One of the modern systems of plant taxonomy, the Dahlgren system was...
raised the family to be
- its own order Chloranthales, which was assigned
- to superorder Magnolianae
- in subclass Magnoliideae [=dicotyledons],
- in class Magnoliopsida [=angiosperms].
- in subclass Magnoliideae [=dicotyledons],
- to superorder Magnolianae
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External links
- Chloranthales in Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 7, May 2006.
- Chloranthaceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards) The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval. Version: 3 May 2006. http://delta-intkey.com.
- Andes Trees
- NCBI Taxonomy Browser
- Images of Chloranthus Flavon's art gallery: Chloranthaceae
- Image of Chloranthus oldhamii
- Image of Chloranthus serratus
- Images of Sarcandra glabra
