Plumbago auriculata (Blue-flowered Plumbago) in Hyderabad, AP W2 IMG 2437

Plumbaginaceae 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 a

cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of the world in appropriate habitats. Such a taxon, usually a species, is said to exhibit cosmopolitanism or cosmopolitism. The ext ...

. The family is sometimes referred to as the leadwort family or the plumbago family. Most

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 ...

in this family are

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 ...

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 ...

plants, but a few grow as

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 or

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. The plants have perfect flowers and are pollinated by

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s. They are found in many different climatic regions, from arctic to tropical conditions, but are particularly associated with

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

-rich

steppes In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...

, marshes, and sea coasts. The family has been recognized by most taxonomists. 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 Gro ...

(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), recognizes this family and assigns it to the order

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 ...

in 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 ...

. It includes ca 30 genera and about 725 species. The 1981

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) a ...

placed the family in a separate order

Plumbaginales Plumbaginales is an order of flowering plants. The order is recognized by several systems, such as the Wettstein system, last revised in 1935, the Engler system, in its update of 1964 and the Cronquist system, 1981. Its circumscription is typica ...

, which included no other families. The

Dahlgren system One of the modern systems of plant taxonomy, the Dahlgren system was published by monocot specialist Rolf Dahlgren in 1975 and revised in 1977, and 1980. However, he is best known for his two treatises on monocotyledons in 1982 and revised in 19 ...

had segregated some of these plants as family Limoniaceae.

Genera

*''

Acantholimon ''Acantholimon'' (prickly thrift) is a genus of small flowering plants within the plumbago or leadwort family, Plumbaginaceae. They are distributed from southeastern Europe to central Asia and also in South America, but also cultivated elsewh ...

'' *''

Aegialitis ''Aegialitis'' is a genus of two shrubby mangrove species, with one native to Southeast Asia and the other native to Australia and Papua New Guinea. Description The two species of the genus are woody mangrove shrubs or small trees that grow u ...

'' *'' Afrolimon'' *''

Armeria ''Armeria'' is a genus of flowering plants. These plants are sometimes known as "lady's cushion", "thrift", or "sea pink" (the latter because as they are often found on coastlines). The genus counts over a hundred species, mostly native to the ...

'', the thrifts or seapinks *'' Bamiana'' *''

Bukiniczia ''Bukiniczia cabulica'' is a plant in the plumbago or leadwort family, Plumbaginaceae. It is the sole species in the monotypic genus ''Bukiniczia''. It is a biennial native to Afghanistan and Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the ...

'' *''

Cephalorhizum ''Cephalorhizum'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Plumbaginaceae Plumbaginaceae is a family of flowering plants, with a cosmopolitan distribution. The family is sometimes referred to as the leadwort family or the plu ...

'' *''

Ceratolimon ''Ceratolimon'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Plumbaginaceae Plumbaginaceae is a family of flowering plants, with a cosmopolitan distribution. The family is sometimes referred to as the leadwort family or the plumba ...

'' *'' Ceratostigma'', the

leadwort Leadwort is a common name for various flowering plants in the family Plumbaginaceae, in particular those in the genera: *''Ceratostigma'' *''Plumbago'' It can also refer to metallophyte plants capable of tolerating high levels of lead, such as spri ...

s *''

Chaetolimon ''Chaetolimon'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Plumbaginaceae Plumbaginaceae is a family of flowering plants, with a cosmopolitan distribution. The family is sometimes referred to as the leadwort family or the plumb ...

'' *'' Dictyolimon'' *'' Dyerophytum'' *'' Eremolimon'' *'' Ghaznianthus'' *'' Goniolimon'' *'' Ikonnikovia'' *'' Limoniastrum'' *'' Limoniopsis'' *''

Limonium ''Limonium'' is a genus of 120 flowering plant species. Members are also known as sea-lavender, statice, caspia or marsh-rosemary. Despite their common names, species are not related to the lavenders or to rosemary. They are instead in Plumbag ...

'' (syn. ''Statice''), the sealavenders *'' Muellerolimon'' *'' Neogontscharovia'' *'' Plumbagella'' *''

Plumbago ''Plumbago'' is a genus of 10–20 species of flowering plants in the family Plumbaginaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the world. Common names include plumbago and leadwort (names which are also shared by the genus '' Cerat ...

'', the

s or plumbagos *'' Popoviolimon'' *'' Psylliostachys'' *'' Saharanthus'' *'' Vassilczenkoa''

Cultivation and uses

Chalk glands are found in this family. The family includes a number of popular

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...

species, which are grown for their attractive flowers.

References

External links

*
Plumbaginaceae in Topwalkslinks at CSDL, Texas
{{Taxonbar, from=Q156141 Caryophyllales families