Pittosporaceae 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 that consists of 200–240 species of

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 ...

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, and

liana A liana is a long- stemmed, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy in search of direct sunlight. The word ''liana'' does not refer to a ta ...

s in 9

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 ...

. Habitats range from tropical to temperate climates of the Afrotropical,

Indomalayan The Indomalayan realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms. It extends across most of South and Southeast Asia and into the southern parts of East Asia. Also called the Oriental realm by biogeographers, Indomalaya spreads all over the Indi ...

Oceanian Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million as of ...

, and

Australasian realm The Australasian realm is a biogeographic realm that is coincident with, but not (by some definitions) the same as, the geographical region of Australasia. The realm includes Australia, the island of New Guinea (comprising Papua New Guinea and ...

s. The type genus is ''Pittosporum''

Banks A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becaus ...

Gaertn. Joseph Gaertner (12 March 1732 – 14 July 1791) was a German botanist, best known for his work on seeds, ''De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum'' (1788-1792). Biography He was born in Calw, and studied in Göttingen under Albrecht von Haller ...

Description

Pittosporaceae 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 reproductio ...

trees, shrubs, or twining vines, with leaves having pinnate venation, no stipules, and margins that are smooth. Ovaries are superior, often with parietal placentation. The style is undivided and straight, and the stigma is often lobed. The fruit is a capsule or berry with the calyx being shed from the fruit. The seeds are surrounded by sticky pulp that comes from secretions of the placental hairs. The flowers have equal numbers of sepals, petals and stamens.Stevens, P.F. (2001 onwards) Pittosporaceae at 'Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 12, July 2012 nd more or less continuously updated since.' Available at http://www.mobot.org/mobot/research/apweb/ Retrieved 6 July 2018.

Genera

* ''Auranticarpa'' L.Cayzer, Crisp & I.Telford * ''Bentleya'' * ''Billardiera'' James Edward Smith (botanist), Sm. * ''Bursaria'' Antonio José Cavanilles, Cav. * ''Cheiranthera'' Allan Cunningham (botanist), A.Cunn. ex Adolphe-Théodore Brongniart, Brongn. * ''

Citriobatus ''Pittosporum'' ( or ) is a genus of about 200 species of flowering plants in the family Pittosporaceae. The genus is probably Gondwanan in origin; its present range extends from Australasia, Oceania, eastern Asia and some parts of Africa. ''Cit ...

'' A.Cunn. ex Putt. * '' Hymenosporum'' R.Br. ex

F.Muell. Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vic ...

(''H. flavum'' being the sole species) * '' Marianthus'' * ''

Pittosporum ''Pittosporum'' ( or ) is a genus of about 200 species of flowering plants in the family Pittosporaceae. The genus is probably Gondwanan in origin; its present range extends from Australasia, Oceania, eastern Asia and some parts of Africa. '' Ci ...

'' Banks & Sol. ex Gartn. * ''

Rhytidosporum ''Rhytidosporum'' is a genus of flowering plants within the family Pittosporaceae. The type species is ''Rhytidosporum procumbens'' ( Hook.) F.Muell. Description ''Rhytidosporum'' species are generally small herbs, or low shrubs, with alternate ...

References

External links

Family Pittosporaceae
on the

(chapter description and systematics) Asterid families Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773) {{Apiales-stub