Dilleniaceae is a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s with 11 genera and about 430 known species. Such a family has been universally recognized by taxonomists. It is known to gardeners for the genus ''

Hibbertia ''Hibbertia'', commonly known as guinea flowers, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Dilleniaceae. They are usually shrubs with simple leaves and usually yellow flowers with five sepals and five petals. There are about 400 species, mo ...

'', which contains many commercially valuable garden species.

Description and distribution

The family is found in the tropics and subtropics plus all of

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 ...

. Most of the members in it are woody plants - lianas or trees such as ''

Dillenia ''Dillenia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Dilleniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of southern Asia, Australasia, and the Indian Ocean islands. The genus is named after the German botanist Johann Jacob Dillenius, ...

'' - but herbaceous species such as ''Hibbertia'' are also present in Dilleniaceae. The leaves of the plants in the family are wide and well-developed, but in certain species of ''

'' they are strongly modified. The flowers are mainly showy and colorful with visible reproductive components.

Buzz pollination Buzz pollination or sonication is a technique used by some bees, such as solitary bees to release pollen which is more or less firmly held by the anthers. The anthers of buzz-pollinated plant species are typically tubular, with an opening at only ...

is common in the group. Fruits of some species, such as ''

Dillenia indica ''Dillenia indica'', commonly known as elephant apple or Ou Tenga, is a species of ''Dillenia'' native to China and tropical Asia. Description It is an evergreen large shrub or small to medium-sized tree growing to 15 m tall. The leaves are 15� ...

'' (elephant apple), are edible.

Taxonomy and phylogeny

left, '' Dillenia suffruticosa'' The position of the family in the phylogenetic tree and its classification among the other

eudicots The eudicots, Eudicotidae, or eudicotyledons are a clade of flowering plants mainly characterized by having two seed leaves upon germination. The term derives from Dicotyledons. Traditionally they were called tricolpates or non-magnoliid dico ...

is uncertain. Some studies suggested that Dilleniaceae may be sister to

Rhabdodendraceae ''Rhabdodendron'' is a genus comprising two or three species of tropical South American trees. ''Rhabdodendron'' is placed in its own family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized bir ...

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

that was thought to be sister to all the rest

Caryophyllales Caryophyllales ( ) is a diverse and heterogeneous order of flowering plants that includes the cacti, carnations, amaranths, ice plants, beets, and many carnivorous plants. Many members are succulent, having fleshy stems or leaves. The betalai ...

. The caryophyllid '' Rhabdodendron'' and the members in the family with the questionable placement in fact share some morphological characteristics, but it has been found that

is actually sister only to the core members of its order. Another possible situation places Dilleniaceae as an ancient group, sister to the superrosidae clade (the family shares some common morphology with

Vitales The Vitaceae are a family of flowering plants, with 14 genera and around 910 known species, including common plants such as grapevines (''Vitis'' spp.) and Virginia creeper (''Parthenocissus quinquefolia''). The family name is derived from the ...

) but this is not absolutely proven. The

APG II system The APG II system (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group 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 Gr ...

, of 2003 (unchanged from the

APG system The APG system (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system) of plant classification is the first version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy. Published in 1998 by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, it was replaced by the improved AP ...

of 1998), also recognizes this family, unplaced as to order, assigned to the clade

core eudicots The eudicots, Eudicotidae, or eudicotyledons are a clade of flowering plants mainly characterized by having two seed leaves upon germination. The term derives from Dicotyledons. Traditionally they were called tricolpates or non-magnoliid dicots ...

. APG II debates either including it in order

or reinstating the order

Dilleniales The Dilleniales are an order of flowering plants, potentially containing one family, Dilleniaceae. The APG III system of 2009, like the earlier APG II system of 2003, left the Dilleniaceae unplaced as to order, while noting that the name Dillenia ...

for just this one family, but decides to leave it unplaced.

Evolution

The family is remarkable because of its variability of morphological characteristics that now are much steadier in other Angiosperm groups. Thus, Dilleniaceae may be an ancient clade that expresses some phylogenetic relation between the higher

Eudicots The eudicots, Eudicotidae, or eudicotyledons are a clade of flowering plants mainly characterized by having two seed leaves upon germination. The term derives from Dicotyledons. Traditionally they were called tricolpates or non-magnoliid dico ...

and the rather more primitive groups. It is estimated that the clade diverged around 115 million years ago in the Mid

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

, but the

crown group In phylogenetics, the crown group or crown assemblage is a collection of species composed of the living representatives of the collection, the most recent common ancestor of the collection, and all descendants of the most recent common ancestor. ...

was formed much later - only 52 million years before the present.

References

External links

Dilleniaceae
in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards).
The families of flowering plants
descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval.'' Version: 3 May 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20070103200438/http://delta-intkey.com/.

links at CSDL
{{Taxonbar, from=Q756019 Eudicot families