Myrsinoideae is a subfamily of the family Primulaceae in the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

Ericales. It was formerly recognized as the family Myrsinaceae, or the myrsine family, consisting of 35 genera and about 1000 species. It is widespread in temperate to tropical climates extending north to Europe, Siberia,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, Mexico, and Florida, and south to New Zealand, South America, and South Africa. Plants are mostly mesophytic trees and

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

s; a few are

liana A liana is a long- stemmed, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy in search of direct sunlight. The word ''liana'' does not refer to a ta ...

s or subherbaceous. Their leathery, evergreen

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are simple and alternate, with smooth margins and without stipules. They are often dotted with glands and resinous cavities. The latter may take the form of secretory lines. The plants are mostly

monoecious Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system alongside gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy. Monoecy is conne ...

, but a few are

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

. Their small flowers are arranged in racemose terminal clusters, or in the leaf

axils A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

. The flowers have four or five sepals and

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s. The floral envelope ( perianth) has a distinct

calyx Calyx or calyce (plural "calyces"), from the Latin ''calix'' which itself comes from the Ancient Greek ''κάλυξ'' (''kálux'') meaning "husk" or "pod", may refer to: Biology * Calyx (anatomy), collective name for several cup-like structures ...

and

corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name * Corolla (headgear), an ancient headdress in the form of a circlet or crown * ''Corolla'' (gastropod), a genus of moll ...

. The calyx is regular and polysepalous. The nonfleshy petals of the corolla are more or less united, closely overlapping. The four or five

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s are usually

isomerous Merosity (from the greek "méros," which means "having parts") refers to the number of component parts in a distinct whorl of a plant structure. The term is most commonly used in the context of a flower where it refers to the number of sepals in a w ...

with the perianth. The carpel has one style and one stigma, with the

ovary The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. ...

unilocular A locule (plural locules) or loculus (plural loculi) (meaning "little place" in Latin) is a small cavity or compartment within an organ or part of an organism (animal, plant, or fungus). In angiosperms (flowering plants), the term ''locule'' usu ...

superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places *Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lake ...

or semi-inferior. The one-seeded, indehiscent fruit is a thin-fleshed

berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...

. North American species are the marlberry (''Ardisia escalloniodes'') and the Florida rapanea (''Rapanea punctata''). Plants in the subfamily have few economic uses. A few genera, such as '' Ardisia'', '' Cyclamen'', '' Lysimachia'', and ''

Myrsine ''Myrsine'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. It was formerly placed in the family Myrsinaceae before this was merged into the Primulaceae. It is found nearly worldwide, primarily in tropical and subtropical areas. It con ...

'', are grown as ornamental plants, especially ''Ardisia crispa'' and ''Myrsine africana''. One species, ''

Ardisia japonica ''Ardisia japonica'', known as marlberry, is a species of ''Ardisia'' native to eastern Asia, in eastern China, Japan and Korea.Flora of China''Ardisia japonica''/ref> Growth It is a low-growing, spreading very quickly evergreen shrub 20–40&n ...

'' (Chinese: 紫金牛; pinyin: ''zǐjīn niú''), is one of the 50 fundamental herbs in traditional Chinese medicine. In the

APG III system The APG III system of flowering plant classification is the third version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy being developed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG). Published in 2009, it was superseded in 2016 by a fur ...

and onwards, the Myrsinaceae were not recognized, but were sunk into Primulaceae, which in that system is

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every polyg ...

very broadly.

Genera

*'' Aegiceras'' *''

Amblyanthopsis ''Amblyanthopsis'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Primulaceae. Its native range is Himalaya to Assam, Philippines. Species: * '' Amblyanthopsis bhotanica'' (C.B.Clarke) Mez * '' Amblyanthopsis burmanica'' Y.H.Tan & ...

'' *''

Amblyanthus ''Amblyanthus'' is a small genus of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae, native to Bangladesh, Assam, and the eastern Himalayas. It is a poorly studied genus, closely related to '' Ardisia'' and '' Amblyanthopsis''. Species The followi ...

'' *''

Anagallis ''Anagallis'' is a genus of about 20–25 species of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae, commonly called pimpernel. The scarlet pimpernel referred to in literature is part of this genus. The botanical name is from the Greek ( 'again') ...

'' *''

Antistrophe Antistrophe ( grc, ἀντιστροφή, "a turning back") is the portion of an ode sung by the chorus in its returning movement from west to east, in response to the strophe, which was sung from east to west. Characteristics Usage as a lit ...

'' *'' Ardisia'' *'' Asterolinon'' (should be included into the ''Anagallis'' clade) *'' Badula'' *''

Conandrium ''Conandrium'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Primulaceae. Its native range is Malesia. Species: *'' Conandrium polyanthum'' *'' Conandrium rhynchocarpum'' References {{Taxonbar, from=Q8349022 Primulaceae Pri ...

'' *'' Coris'' *''

Ctenardisia ''Ctenardisia'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Primulaceae. Its native range is Mexico to Brazil. Species: *'' Ctenardisia amplifolia'' *'' Ctenardisia ovandensis'' *'' Ctenardisia purpusii'' *'' Ctenardisia specio ...

'' *''

Cybianthus ''Cybianthus'' is a genus of shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergr ...

'' *'' Cyclamen'' *'' Discocalyx'' *''

Elingamita ''Elingamita'' is a genus in the plant family Primulaceae. It consists of a single species, ''Elingamita johnsonii'', a tree or shrub endemic to the Three Kings Islands approximately 55 km north of the North Island of New Zealand. The entire ...

'' *'' Embelia'' *''

Emblemantha ''Emblemantha'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Primulaceae. Its native range is Sumatera. Species: * ''Emblemantha urnulata'' B.C.Stone References {{Taxonbar, from=Q386214 Primulaceae Primulaceae genera ...

'' *''

Fittingia ''Fittingia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the primrose family Primulaceae, with all species native to New Guinea. They are shrubs or small trees typically found in the understory. Species Currently accepted species include: *''Fittingia ...

'' *'' Geissanthus'' *''

Glaux ''Lysimachia maritima'' is a plant species belonging to the family Primulaceae. It was previously called ''Glaux maritima'', the only species in the monotypic genus ''Glaux''. The species has a number of common names, including sea milkwort, sea ...

'' (should be included into the clade'' Lysimachia'') *''

Heberdenia ''Heberdenia'' is a genus of plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, al ...

'' *'' Hymenandra'' *''

Labisia ''Labisia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae, native to the Malesia biogeographical region. Its best known species is ''Labisia pumila'', which is cultivated as a medicinal herb in Malaysia and Indonesia for, among other ...

'' *''

Loheria ''Loheria'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Primulaceae. It is native to New Guinea and the Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng ...

'' *'' Lysimachia'' *'' Maesa'' *'' Monoporus'' *''

'' *'' Oncostemum'' *'' Parathesis'' *'' Pelletiera'' (should be included into the'' Anagallis clade'') *'' Pleiomeris'' *'' Rapanea'' *'' Sadiria'' *''

Solonia ''Solonia'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Primulaceae, with just contains one species, Solonia reflexa Urb. It grows as a shrub and is native to Cuba. The genus name of ''Solonia'' is in honour of Solon (c. 64 ...

'' *'' Stylogyne'' *'' Tapeinosperma'' *'' Trientalis'' *'' Tetrardisia'' *''

Vegaea ''Vegaea'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Primulaceae. It contains a single species, ''Vegaea pungens'', a shrub endemic to the Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a cou ...

'' *'' Wallenia'' The following genera, traditionally categorized in Primulaceae ''sensu lato'', should, according to Källersjö et al. (2000), belong to the Myrsinoideae (the clade of Myrsinaceae ''s. l.''): ''Anagallis'', ''Ardisiandra'', ''Asterolinon'', ''Coris'', ''Cyclamen'', ''Glaux'', ''Lysimachia'', ''Pelletiera '' and ''Trientalis''.

References

* * * {{Authority control Plant subfamilies Primulaceae