The Simaroubaceae are a small, mostly tropical, family in the order

Sapindales Sapindales is an order of flowering plants. Well-known members of Sapindales include citrus; maples, horse-chestnuts, lychees and rambutans; mangos and cashews; frankincense and myrrh; mahogany and neem. The APG III system of 2009 inclu ...

. In recent decades, it has been subject to much taxonomic debate, with several small families being split off. A

molecular phylogeny Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

of the family was published in 2007, greatly clarifying relationships within the family. Together with chemical characteristics such as the occurrence of petroselinic acid in ''Picrasma'', in contrast to other members of the family such as '' Ailanthus'', this indicates the existence of a subgroup in the family with ''Picrasma'', ''Holacantha'', and ''

Castela ''Castela'' is a genus of thorny shrubs and small trees in the family Simaroubaceae. Members of the genus are native to the Americas, especially the tropical regions. The generic name honours the French naturalist René Richard Louis Castel. ' ...

''. The best-known species is the temperate Chinese tree-of-heaven '' Ailanthus altissima'', which has become a cosmopolitan

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...

tree of urban areas and wildlands. Well-known genera in the family include the tropical '' Quassia'' and ''

Simarouba ''Simarouba'' is a genus of trees and shrubs in the family Simaroubaceae, native to the neotropics. It has been grouped in the subtribe Simaroubina along with the '' Simaba'' and '' Quassia'' genera. They have compound leaves, with between 1 a ...

Genera

Excluded genera

References

External links