Cunoniaceae is a family of 27

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 nomenclat ...

and about 335

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of 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 the appropriate s ...

woody plant A woody plant is a plant that produces wood as its structural tissue and thus has a hard stem. In cold climates, woody plants further survive winter or dry season above ground, as opposite to herbaceous plants that die back to the ground until sp ...

s in the order

Oxalidales Oxalidales is an order of flowering plants, included within the rosid subgroup of eudicots. Compound leaves are common in Oxalidales and the majority of the species in this order have five or six sepals and petals. The following families are typic ...

, mostly found in the tropical and wet temperate regions of the Southern Hemisphere. The greatest diversity of genera are in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

(15 genera),

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

(9 genera), and

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

(7 genera). The family is also present in

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, the Caribbean, Malesia, the islands of the South Pacific,

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

and surrounding islands. the family is absent from mainland Asia except from Peninsular Malaysia, and almost absent from mainland Africa apart from two species from Southern Africa (''

Cunonia capensis ''Cunonia capensis'', the butterspoon tree, butterknife tree, African red alder, red alder or rooiels, is a small tree found in the afromontane forests of southern Africa, and along rivers. It is grown as an ornamental in gardens for its attract ...

'', '' Platylophus trifoliatus''). Several of the genera have remarkable disjunct ranges, found on more than one continent, e.g. ''

Cunonia ''Cunonia'' is a genus of shrubs and trees in the family Cunoniaceae. The genus has a disjunct distribution, with 24 species endemic to New Caledonia in the Pacific, and one species (''Cunonia capensis'') in Southern Africa. Leaves are opposite, ...

'' (Southern Africa & New Caledonia), ''

Eucryphia ''Eucryphia'' is a small genus of trees and large shrubs native to the south temperate regions of South America and coastal eastern Australia, mainly Tasmania. Sometimes placed in a family of their own, the Eucryphiaceae, more recent classificati ...

'' (Australia & South America) ''

Weinmannia ''Weinmannia'' is a genus of trees and shrubs in the family Cunoniaceae. It is the largest genus of the family with about 150 species. It is also the most widespread genus, occurring in Central and South America including the Caribbean, Madagasc ...

'' (America and the Mascarenes). The family includes

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s 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; most are

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

but a few are

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

. The

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 opposite or whorled (alternate in ''

Davidsonia ''Davidsonia'' is a genus containing three rainforest tree species native to Australia, that are commonly known as the Davidson or Davidson's plum. The fruits superficially resemble the European plum, but are not closely related. All species ha ...

''), and simple or compound (pinnate or palmate), with entire or toothed margin, and often with conspicuous

stipule In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...

s (interpetiolar or intrapetiolar). The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s have four or five (rarely three or up to ten)

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s 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

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

is usually a woody capsule or a follicle containing several small

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

s. The family has a rich fossil record in Australia and fossil representatives are known in the Northern Hemisphere. '' Platydiscus peltatus'' was found in

Upper Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', the ...

rocks from Sweden and is likely a member of the Cunoniaceae. An earlier possible fossil member is from the

Cenomanian The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the s ...

. '' Tropidogyne'', found in

Burmese amber Burmese amber, also known as Burmite or Kachin amber, is amber from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar. The amber is dated to around 100 million years ago, during the latest Albian to earliest Cenomanian ages of the mid-Cretaceous period. The ...

, has flowers that strongly resemble the extant ''

Ceratopetalum ''Ceratopetalum'' is a genus of nine species of shrub and tree in the family Cunoniaceae. They are found along the eastern coast of Australia and extend north to New Guinea. Two Australian species are among the best known, one being '' C. apet ...

''.

Taxonomy

The genera of the family have been divided into tribes.

Tribe Spiraeanthemeae * ''

Spiraeanthemum ''Spiraeanthemum'' is a genus of trees and shrubs in the family Cunoniaceae. it includes about 19 species from Australia, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; ...

'' Tribe Schizomerieae * ''

Anodopetalum ''Anodopetalum biglandulosum'' is a Tasmanian endemic shrub or small tree species that is a common component of Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption ...

'' * ''

Schizomeria ''Schizomeria'' is a genus with 10 species of plants in the family Cunoniaceae. There are two species in Australia. Others occur in New Guinea, the Moluccas and the Solomon Islands. The fruit is a fleshy drupe. The name is from the Greek, meanin ...

'' * '' Platylophus'' Tribe Geissoieae * ''

Geissois ''Geissois'' is a genus of trees and shrubs in the plant family Cunoniaceae. It includes about 19 species mostly found in New Caledonia, but also in Fiji, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands. Leaves are opposite, palmate with 3-9 leaflets, with en ...

'' * ''

Karrabina ''Karrabina'' is a genus of trees in the family Cunoniaceae. It is endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms th ...

'' * ''

Lamanonia ''Lamanonia'' is a genus of trees in the family Cunoniaceae. It is endemic to South America. It is found in north eastern Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. Species The genus name of ''Lamanonia'' is in honour of Robert de Lamanon (1752–1787), ...

'' * ''

Pseudoweinmannia ''Pseudoweinmannia'' is an endemic Australian genus with two species of trees of the family Cunoniaceae. Both species lack petals. * '' Pseudoweinmannia lachnocarpa'' * '' Pseudoweinmannia apetala'' The name refers to the similarity of another g ...

'' Tribe Caldcluvieae * ''

Ackama ''Ackama'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cunoniaceae, native to Australia (New South Wales, Queensland) and north New Zealand. The genus was first described by Allan Cunningham in 1839. Species , Plants of the World Online accep ...

'' * ''

Caldcluvia ''Caldcluvia'' is a monotypic genus in the family Cunoniaceae with the only species ''Caldcluvia paniculata'', known as tiaca, an evergreen tree native to Chile. It is found from Ñuble to Aisén (36 to 45°S). Most species that were previousl ...

'' * ''

Opocunonia ''Opocunonia'' is a monotypic genus of trees in the family Cunoniaceae. Its only species is ''Opocunonia nymanii'', synonym ''Caldcluvia nymanii''. It is native to New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago The Bismarck Archipelago (, ) is a gro ...

'' Tribe Codieae * ''

Callicoma ''Callicoma'' is a plant genus that contains just one species, ''Callicoma serratifolia'', a tall shrub or small tree which is native to Australia. ''Callicoma serratifolia'' is commonly known as black wattle. One explanation for the name is the ...

'' * ''

Codia ''Codia'' is a genus of trees and shrubs in the family Cunoniaceae. The genus is endemic to New Caledonia in the Pacific and contains 15 species. The leaves are opposite or whorled, simple, and the margin usually entire. The flowers are arrange ...

'' * '' Pullea'' Tribe Cunonieae * ''

'' * '' Pancheria'' * '' Pterophylla'' * ''

Vesselowskya ''Vesselowskya'' is a genus of 2 species of shrub to small tree in the family Cunoniaceae endemic to New South Wales, Australia. They are found in cool, temperate mountain ranges, normally in country dominated by Nothofagus moorei ''Nothof ...

'' * ''

'' Unplaced to tribe * '' Acrophyllum'' * ''

Aistopetalum ''Aistopetalum'' is a genus of trees in the family Cunoniaceae. It is endemic to New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in ...

'' * ''

Bauera ''Bauera'' is a genus of four species of flowering plants in the family Cunoniaceae, all endemic to eastern Australia. Plants in the genus ''Bauera'' are shrubs with trifoliate leaves arranged in opposite pairs and have flowers with four to ten ...

'' * ''

Hooglandia ''Hooglandia ignambiensis'' is a species of trees in the family Cunoniaceae. It is endemic to New Caledonia and the only species of the genus ''Hooglandia''. It is named after Dutch botanist Ruurd Dirk Hoogland Ruurd Dirk Hoogland (1922 Leeuwarden ...

'' * ''

Gillbeea ''Gillbeea'' is a genus of three species of Australasian rainforest trees from the family Cunoniaceae. Botanical science has formally published , the names and descriptions of one species endemic to New Guinea and two species endemic to the Wet ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q131764 Rosid families Santonian first appearances Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773) Extant Santonian first appearances