Connaraceae is a pan-tropical plant
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
of 19
genera
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial ...
and more than 180
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
of largely evergreen trees, woody shrubs and climbers.
The family was first described by
Robert Brown in 1816 and the name has been conserved.
Distribution
Connaraceae is a tropical family, the most important genera of which, ''
Connarus'' (approximately 80 species) and ''
Rourea'' (40-70 species) have a pan-tropical distribution.
Their habitat is generally lowland tropical rain forest and savanna.
Description
Connaraceae are typically evergreen trees, shrubs or climbers. ''Connarus'' is represented by species in all three lifeforms,
while ''Rourea'' species are climbers. Their leaves are
pinnate
Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, an ...
,
trifoliate
The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...
or rarely entire,
alternate
Alternative or alternate may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki''
* ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film
* ''The Alternative ...
, without