Kirkiaceae
Encyclopedia
Kirkiaceae is a family of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

 in the order Sapindales
Sapindales
Sapindales is a botanical name for an order of flowering plants. Well-known members of Sapindales include citrus; maples, horse-chestnuts, lychees and rambutans; mangos and cashews; frankincense and myrrh; mahogany and neem....

. It comprises two genera, Kirkia
Kirkia
Kirkia is a genus of plant in family Kirkiaceae. It was previously placed in family Simaroubaceae, but was transferred into Kirkiaceae, together with Pleiokirkia, because these genera produce neither quassinoids nor limonoids....

and Pleikirkia, totalling six species. These two genera were previously placed in family Simaroubaceae
Simaroubaceae
The Simaroubaceae is a small, mostly tropical, family in the order Sapindales. In recent decades it has been subject to much taxonomic debate, with several small families being split off...

, but were transferred into their own family because they produce neither quassinoids nor limonoid
Limonoid
Limonoids are phytochemicals, abundant in citrus fruit and other plants of the families Rutaceae and Meliaceae. Currently limonoids are under investigation for a wide variety of therapeutic effects such as antiviral or Viricide, antifungal, antibacterial, antineoplastic and antimalarial...

s.

They occur along the east coast of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, and in Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...

.

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