The Garryales are a small order of dicotyledons, including only two families and three genera.

Description

Garryales are

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 s ...

s that are either hairless or have very fine hairs. Members of the family Garryaceae 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 ...

, whereas those of the Eucommiaceae 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, a ...

and produce

latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latexes are found in nature, but synthetic latexes are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants (angiosper ...

. All members 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 reproducti ...

Taxonomy

These belong among the

asterid In the APG IV system (2016) for the classification of flowering plants, the name asterids denotes a clade (a monophyletic group). Asterids is the largest group of flowering plants, with more than 80,000 species, about a third of the total flower ...

s. Under the

Cronquist system The Cronquist system is a taxonomic classification system of flowering plants. It was developed by Arthur Cronquist in a series of monographs and texts, including ''The Evolution and Classification of Flowering Plants'' (1968; 2nd edition, 1988) ...

, the Garryaceae were placed among the

Cornales The Cornales are an order of flowering plants, early diverging among the asterids, containing about 600 species. Plants within the Cornales usually have four-parted flowers, drupaceous fruits, and inferior to half-inferior gynoecia topped with d ...

. The Eucommiaceae were given their own order and placed among the

Hamamelidae Hamamelididae is an obsolete botanical name at the rank of subclass. Because some hamamelidid members bear aments (''i.e.'', catkins), this subclass has been formerly known as ''Amentiferae''. Based on molecular phylogeny works, Hamamelididae ...

. The Oncothecaceae family has been associated with Garryales, though the link is not strong enough to prove they are related.

Subdivisions

The order is made up of two families which, between them, contain three genera. These are: * Family

Garryaceae Garryaceae is a small family of plants known commonly as the silktassels.Garryaceae.
Flora o ...

**''

Garrya ''Garrya'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Garryaceae native to Mexico, the western United States, Central America and the Greater Antilles. Common names include silk tassel and tassel bush. They are evergreen dioecious wind-pollina ...

'' **'' Aucuba'' * Family

Eucommiaceae ''Eucommia'' is a genus of small trees now native to China, with a fossil record that shows a much wider distribution. The single living species, ''Eucommia ulmoides'', is near threatened in the wild, but is widely cultivated in China for its ...

**''

Eucommia ''Eucommia'' is a genus of small trees now native to China, with a fossil record that shows a much wider distribution. The single living species, '' Eucommia ulmoides'', is near threatened in the wild, but is widely cultivated in China for ...

Distribution

Species in the order are spread between North America and Asia. The various ''Garrya'' species are found in North America, in southern and western coastal regions of the United States. ''Aucuba'' species are found across eastern parts of Asia, while ''Eucommia'' species are within China.

Uses

Plants within the Garryales may be cultivated for ornamental purposes; '' Aucuba japonica'' is grown as a decorative hedge.

Description

Taxonomy

Subdivisions

Distribution

Uses

References

Further reading