The Francoaceae are a small family of

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 in the order

Geraniales Geraniales is a small order of flowering plants, included within the rosid subclade of eudicots. The largest family in the order is Geraniaceae with over 800 species. In addition, the order includes the smaller Francoaceae with about 40 speci ...

, including the

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 ...

'' Francoa'', commonly known as bridal wreaths, and '' Tetilla''. The Francoaceae are recognized as a family under various classification schemes but under 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 Published in 2009, it was superseded in 2016 by a fur ...

the Francoaceae are included within the

Melianthaceae The Melianthaceae are a family of flowering plants. The APG II system includes them within the rosid clade. All members of Melianthaceae proper are trees or shrubs found in tropical and southern Africa. Francoaceae (the Bridal wreaths) are ...

. In the

APG IV system The APG IV system of flowering plant classification is the fourth version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy for flowering plants (angiosperms) being developed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG). It was publishe ...

the Francoaceae are again recognized as a family, with Melianthaceae included in the circumscription of Francoaceae. The Francoaceae are

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

s characterized by a basal aggregation of alternate petiolated leaves. The leaf blades (''lamina'') are either dissected, or entire. They are

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 that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Genera

*''

Balbisia ''Balbisia'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Francoaceae. It is also in the ''Vivianiaceae'' subfamily. The genus is distributed across is Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru in southern South America. Known species As acce ...

'' *''

Bersama ''Bersama'' is a genus of small trees in family Francoaceae. The genus is distributed across sub-Saharan Africa. The Plant List includes this genus in family Melianthaceae. Species It contains the following species: * '' Bersama abyssinica'' F ...

'' *'' Francoa'' *''

Greyia ''Greyia'' is a genus of plant in family Francoaceae. It contains three species: * ''Greyia flanaganii'', Bolus * ''Greyia radlkoferi'' * '' Greyia sutherlandii'' Unlike other plants sometimes included in the family Melianthaceae, ''Greyia'' ha ...

'' *'' Melianthus'' *'' Rhynchotheca'' *'' Tetilla'' *''

Viviania ''Viviania'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Francoaceae. The genus is distributed across is Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay in southern South America. Known species As accepted by Kew; The genus name of ''Vivian ...

References

Rosid families Flora of Chile {{Geraniales-stub